25 teams in 25 days: Pearl River Central Blue Devils

We are on our second to last school for this years 25 teams in 25 days and who better to visit with than the Pearl River Central Blue Devils, led by first-year head coach John Feaster.

While it may be Feasters first-year as a head coach at Pearl River Central, he is no stranger to the Blue Devil program and his players know that. They also know that while success has been hard to come by in recent years, there is no school they’d rather be playing for.

“When I was a kid I saw it as the greatest thing ever,” senior Noah Morris said. “I looked up to the team that coach Feaster led when he was here in 2015. I looked up to the teams that were state champions. I always thought that being one of those people and being a part of this team was something that could not be beat by any other.”

“Not even just from last year, but all four years of high school we haven’t had the best success here at this school,” senior Garrett Ouder said. “With that being said, we do have that chip on our shoulder. This senior class, we have been through it, but we are still here and we are ready to get back on the field.”

It’s clear that the Blue Devil players want to win not for just themselves, but for their coach. Player-coach relationships are what can make a good team a great one. For two Pearl River Central players, it means just a little more being close with their coach.

“It’s a good feeling because we have all of the tools and resources to be great,” Titus Feaster said. “We just have to follow and we just have to listen.”

“It’s a great feeling, you know, he teaches us everything that we know,” John Feaster said. “We listen to him and we do it to the best of our ability. It means a lot for our family to come back.”

Both Titus and John told me that there is no added pressure playing for their dad, but it does push them to be better. The good thing about this Pearl River Central Blue Devils team is that they are already highly motivated to be the best team they can possibly be. One thing is for sure, they are ready to get their 2024 season started this week in their jamboree against Purvis and East Central high school.

“I’m excited,” Ouder said. “We have been putting in the work this off-season and I am excited to see the results on the field.”

“Yeah you are excited, you have the nerves, and you don’t know what to truly expect,” head coach John Feaster said. “I fully believe our kids are going to come out and bring it. I feel like they are going to play hard. I feel like they are excited, tired of hitting each other, and I think they are just excited. I think the community is excited and I just think we are going to be ready to roll.”

Go ahead and add WXXV sports 25 to the list of people who are excited. Not just for Blue Devil high school football, but high school football all together as we are just two sleeps away from jamboree action being back here in South Mississippi. PRC will get their regular season started on the road when they take on South Pike and the Eagles on August 30th.