POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference recently announced its All-Conference teams, and nine Pearl River football players have taken home the honor.
Corblin McGinn (D'Iberville) and Caleb Williams (Biloxi; D'Iberville) earned Second Team honors. Kayvon Barnes (Pascagoula), Zavier Fairley (Wiggins; Stone County), Eli Hackbarth (Birmingham, Ala.; Oak Mountain), Quandarius Keyes (Laurel), Andrew Lee (Picayune; Pearl River Central), Dalton Lee (Carriere; Pearl River Central) and Kam Norwood (Hattiesburg) were named Honorable Mention.
SECOND TEAM
McGinn earns the Second Team designation for a second consecutive season. The sophomore punted 25 times for 903 yards, averaging 36.1 yards per punt with a long of 50 yards. Ten of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line.
"Our record didn't indicate it, but it was another good year on defense," head coach Seth Smith said. "Corblin had a lot to do with that. He did a great job of flipping the field, and anytime that you can make the offense go 30-40 extra yards, it makes a big difference."
Williams was a tackling machine from his safety position in 2023. He placed 10th in the MACCC and tied for second on the Wildcats with 62 tackles on the year. He added in four tackles-for-loss, three pass breakups and one interception.
"He had a fantastic freshman season and then had great carryover," Smith said. "Coach (Ta'Ron) Sims did a great job coaching and developing him. He's been coachable. He's a leader and has a really bright future."
HONORABLE MENTION
Barnes was named Honorable Mention after being the bellcow running back for Pearl River this season. The sophomore finished with 131 rushes for 618 yards and four scores. He averaged 4.7 yards per carry.
"I thought that around the Hinds game, it started to really click for Kayvon," Smith said. "He had a fantastic year. As much as we ran the ball, you have to be a tough kid. He was extremely tough and did a great job leading us on offense."
Fairley's redshirt freshman season was a great one. He finished the year with 16 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery.
"When you redshirt someone, you believe there's something in him," Smith said. "To go from redshirt to all-conference shows the work that he put in. He had a fantastic year, and we have high expectations for him going forward."
Hackbarth earned his second Honorable Mention selection after leading Pearl River in tackles with 64, which ranked eighth best in the conference. The redshirt sophomore tacked on five TFLs, one sack and one interception as well.
"He had a fantastic freshman year and backed it up with an even better sophomore campaign," Smith said. "He played basically the entire year with one arm and made All-Conference playing with a broken arm. That says all you need to know about him. He's tough."
Keyes made a gigantic impact as a true freshman in the Pearl River secondary. He racked up 11 tackles on the year but made a difference with big plays. He returned a fumble 65 yards for a touchdown against Jones College. Against Southwest, Keyes picked off a pass and zipped down the field for a 97-yard touchdown. He also broke up four passes.
"He came in and worked his tail off. He's got a ton of ability, but you could really see his progression from when he got here to the end of the season," Smith said. "All that hard work came to life as the season progressed. We have extremely high expectations for him next year."
Andrew Lee was a constant presence along PRCC's offensive line in 2023, starting all nine games. He helped the Wildcats finish with 2,313 yards of total offense, including 1,012 yards through the air and 1,301 on the ground.
"He was extremely raw when he first got here," Smith said. "He worked his tail off in the weight room. He worked hard on his technique and continued to get better. Now he's getting offers to go play at four-year schools. We're proud of him."
Dalton Lee turned in a highly productive sophomore season, tying for second on the team in tackles with 62 and leading PRCC in TFLs with 7.5. He also broke up a pair of passes.
"Dalton is a lot like Andrew," Smith said. "Tough, physical and extremely coachable. Dalton had a great year because he was always in the right place and did exactly what his coaches asked. He played with a really high motor."
Norwood made his presence known all over the field in his sophomore campaign — often covering the best receiver on the field. The Troy commit finished with 35 tackles, six TFLs, two forced fumbles, two blocked field goals, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup.
Norwood was also named Honorable Mention in 2022.
"He's elite. He's got a ton of God-given ability and he continued to get better and better," Smith said. "He was extremely explosive this season and made a ton of huge plays for us this year. He was a real leader on defense."
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