(Coach Alden Foster, right, speaks to his team on the field after McComb High defeated Brookhaven High)

One thing I’ve enjoyed thus far about Y’all Sports is the opportunity to cover different schools that I previously had not been writing about.

One of those schools is McComb High and last week the Tigers had the whole state talking about them with an 18-16 win over Brookhaven High in the renewal of their old rivalry.

BHS went up 7-0 before McComb came back to take a 12-10 lead at halftime. An interception return from junior defensive back Sheldon Isaac was the score that put the Tigers ahead and that lead was one they wouldn’t relinquish.

Isaac was one of the players I met earlier this year while working on our preseason football team, The Y’all 22.

I’d come to practice to talk with and photograph Isaac, Delwin “Dejay” Perkins Jr., and Broderick “Bam” Peters Jr last month. It only took me watching five minutes of practice to see that the Tigers are loaded with guys that are difference makers.

It wasn’t a surprise, as I’d watched McComb and BHS play in Brookhaven last year and had been impressed with the toughness of the Tigers in a game that they could have easily won, had not penalties piled up against them.

As I waited for practice to end, I was able to hear head coach Alden Foster address his team and the veteran leader quickly had my attention, as you could clearly see just how dialed in his players were to every word he said.

Practice had ended with an extra drill that hadn’t been on the plan for the day.

Foster saw where two teammates seemed to have an issue with each other.

He gave one the guys a ball and lined the other up across from him and had them get out their frustrations with a tackling drill as their teammates gathered around and cheered. Foster let them get it out of their system with multiple reps and then called for everyone to take a knee and gather around.

I’d been doing my research on Foster, as I knew he’d been a successful high school coach at Amite High in Louisiana in his career. Before going to meet him and the team for the first time, I’d listened to a couple of local media appearances he’d made in McComb .

Earlier in my life, I was a junior college assistant basketball coach. One thing I enjoyed about that job was seeing great high school coaches at their craft.

Getting to go to a high school practice and seeing a skilled high school coach was a great way for me to learn and to soak up what great leaders of men look like.

It didn’t take me five minutes of being in the presence of the head Tiger while he addressed his team to know that Coach Alden Foster is someone who takes that role of leading young men with deadly seriousness.

I’ll paraphrase his message that day, but one thing that impressed me initially was his delivery.

Foster doesn’t talk loud, his voice is often raspy, but his words carry weight, as you can tell that he’s not one to talk the ear off his team.

Because he wasn’t speaking loud, everyone was especially quiet, leaning in towards their coach to catch his every word. All eyes were locked on him. Everyone on the team, from the star players to the underclassmen that hold tackling dummies, were on bended knee with their eyes locked their coach.

The discipline Foster demands was apparent to this newcomer.

There would be no more friction between teammates, Foster warned. If he heard more about that, he’d remove both players from the team.

He also mentioned that he’d heard some profanity that day and that was something else he wanted to hear no more of.

The way Foster addressed the issue, it didn’t feel like an empty threat.

The first game of the season was a couple days away. Foster talked about progress reports that had gone out that day and said that anyone with a “C” on theirs should come back to paint the field with the coaches after getting changed.

He then mentioned how one player on the team had an “F” and how unhappy he was with that while staring down a kid that he’d not named but didn’t have to. The player met his gaze and then stared at the tops of his cleats.

It just felt awesome to be in the presence of an old school football coach.

Foster twice took the mighty Amite High Warriors to the Superdome to play for LHSAA state championships. If you didn’t know, Amite High is where Heisman winner DeVonta Smith starred before going on to win two national championships at Alabama and a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Foster’s first MHS team went 9-2 and his next went 11-1. The Tigers took a slight step back last season at 6-5, but they’ve been the talk of the state this week after the win over Brookhaven High.

He missed leading his team in their spring drills earlier this year after receiving a new kidney, which has given Foster a new lease on life, as he had lived the prior six years while dealing with kidney failure.

There is still lots of big-time football left to play for Foster and his crew in 2025.

Sometimes when we’re talking about high school football and a team is playing in a tough district, we’ll say, “that’s the SEC” of whatever region or division being described.

Hear this, McComb High truly is in the SEC of 4A in the MHSAA.

After hosting Hazlehurst High this weekend for homecoming, MHS open Region 7-4A play on Oct. 3 by hosting Poplarville (3-1). The PHS Hornets are defending 4A state champs and boast junior running back Ty Keyes, who rushed for eight touchdowns and 506 yards in a game earlier this season.

Then McComb hits the road to face Columbia High (4-0) another serious 4A contender on Oct. 10. After going to Monticello to face Lawrence County on Oct. 17, McComb will have an off week before the regular season finale.

That regular season closer is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 30 at home and it’ll be the Green and Gold Superbowl, with the South Pike Eagles making the trip north to play the Tigers in front of what will be a huge crowd at CC Moore Stadium.

So yeah, lots of ball left for McComb High and Coach Foster, which I can’t wait to cover here.