Mississippi's all-time winningest high school football coaches, active wins leaders

There' are two active coaches looking to move up the all-time wins list in 2024

Petal Panthers football coach Marcus Boyles is sitting at 300 career wins going into the 2024 season. / Photo courtesy Pine Belt News

The 2024 high school football season is upon us, and there's at two coaches looking to move up the list of Mississippi's all-time winningest coaches this year.

Centreville Academy coach Bill Hurst sits atop the list at 429 career wins, and is preparing for his 48th season at the helm of the Centreville Academy program that went 10-3 a year ago and reached the third round of the MAIS Playoffs.

The other active coach in the Top 10 All-time list is Marcus Boyles, who recently moved back to his old stomping grounds at Petal after leading Meridian to a 6-7 record — including road playoff win over top-seeded Ocean Springs — a year ago.

In his first eight-year run at Petal, Boyles had an 80-39 record, won two district titles, three South State title games and playing in one state title game in 2015.

"I think being able to work with great people and having really good players has been the key," Boyles said. "And the good Lord has blessed me with both in my career."

Here's a look at Mississippi's all-time winningest coaches and active wins leaders going into 2024.

Mississippi's all-time winningest high school football coaches

1. Bill Hurst (1975-2023)

Centreville Academy coach Bill Hurst (center) poses with MAIS officials after being presented with a plaque honoring his 400th career victory in 2018. / Photo from X (@msais)

• Career Record: 429-152
• State Championships: 9
• Schools: Centerville Academy

There's longevity, and then there's Bill Hurst longevity. The legendary Centreville Academy coach led the Tigers to an amazing nine state championships and won nearly 75 percent of his games in a remarkable 48-year career. He took two years off (in 1994 and 1995) to watch his son Brian play ball at Southwest Mississippi Community College. He passed Ricky Black as Mississippi's winningest coach in 2013.

2. Ricky Black (1975-2019)

• Career Record: 400-79
• State Championships: 13
• Schools: Jackson Prep, Tupelo, Kosciusko

Jackson Prep’s legendary football coach racked up a lot of credentials over the years — including a nod as the National High School Football Coach of the Year in 2018. The Ackerman, Miss. native led the Patriots to 13 MAIS State Championships and seven runner-up finishes in 24 seasons at the helm of the program.

3. Jim Drewry (1965-2009)

• Career Record: 346-158-5
• State Championships: 2
• Schools: Booneville, Kossuth, Tishomingo County

Before his retirement in 2010 at the age of 79, Drury spent 50 years as a head coach in Mississippi. His teams made the playoffs 17 times and brought home Class 2A State Championships trophies in 1990, 1999 and 2000.

4. Joe Bradshaw (1962-2005)

• Career Record: 342-141-3
• State Championships: 5
• Schools: North Panola, Strider Academy, Noxubee County

A veteran of the U.S. Army, Memphis native Joe Bradshaw served as headmaster and coach at Strider Academy in Charleston from 1972 to 2010. He was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. The MAIS still presents an annual coaching award for exemplary leadership named in his honor.

5. Mac Barnes (1978-2020)

• Career Record: 334-156-1
• State Championships: 8
• Schools: Lamar Academy, Meridian

Few have impacted their football community the way Mac Barnes did over nearly 50 years in Meridian. Barnes spent 26 seasons at Meridian High, then 21 more at Lamar School, where he won six state championships.

6. Bobby Hall (1980-2017)

• Career Record: 310-106
• State Championships: 4
• Schools: Raleigh, Amory, Louisville, Wayne County, Madison Central, Biloxi, Philadelphia

Known as much for his dry wit and classic quotes, the father of current Southern Miss football coach Will Hall had a consistently successful career that spanned nearly 30 years. Hall won a state championship at Louisville and three more at Amory before an 87-31 run over nine seasons at Madison Central. You could make the argument for his as the coach of the decade in the 90s: his teams at Louisville, Amory and Wayne County went a combined 126-20 from 1990 to 2000.

7. Buddy Singleton (1965-2015)

• Career Record: 303-120-3
• State Championships: None
• Schools: D’Iberville, St. John

Singleton was the driving force that helped build the D'Iberville football program into a consistent winner on the coast. He was inducted into the Mississippi Association of Coaches Hall of Fame after posting 30 winning seasons and bringing home five Pascagaoula River Conference championships.

8. Marcus Boyles (1993-present)

• Career Record: 300-78
• State Championships: 5
• Schools: Taylorsville, Pearl, Wayne County, Petal, Meridian

Marcus Boyles is a name synonymous with winning, because he's done it everywhere he's been. Over a 30-year career, he's harnessed the talent at some of Mississippi's most storied football programs and turned it into results on the field. He recently returned to Petal and said he hopes to make a run at the Region 3-7A title in 2024.

9. Jack Bailey (1953-1998)

• Career Record: 285-134-8
• State Championships: 1
• Schools: Kosciusko, Sylva Bay, Prentiss Christian, Collins, Bay Springs

A Mississippi Delta native, Bailey committed his professional career to serving South Mississippi schools from Kosciusko to Bay Springs. He amassed a record of 291 wins over forty-one varsity coaching years, and a grand total of 51 years of coaching, including 16 conference championships while at Collins High School from 1958 to 1986.

10. Perry Wheat (1977-2017)

• Career Record: 274-169-1
• State Championships: None
• Schools: Purvis, Perry Central, Columbia Academy, Forrest County AHS, Magee, Seminary

The Pine Belt's penultimate program-builder, Wheat took over a middling Seminary program in 1977 and transformed the Bulldogs from a 2-7 team in his first year to a 9-2 team in his third. He went 2-8-1 in his first year at Forrest County AHS in 1980, but led the Aggies to the playoffs in four of his final six seasons. After a successful 26-10 run at Perry Central in the mid-2000s, he settled into his final stop at Purvis in 2006. He finished his career by leading the Tornadoes to the MHSAA playoffs in each of his final 10 years, retiring after the 2017 season.

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Mississippi's Active Winningest Coaches

1. Bill Hurst (Centreville Academy)

• Career Record: 429-152
• State Championships: 9
• Schools: Centerville Academy

2. Marcus Boyles (Petal)

• Career Record: 300-78
• State Championships: 5
• Schools: Taylorsville, Pearl, Wayne County, Petal*, Meridian

3. David King (Adams County Christian)

• Career Record: 253-81
• State Championships: 6
• Schools: Trinity Episcopal, Adams County Christian

4. Lance Mancuso (Jefferson Davis County)

• Career Record: 245-93
• State Championships: 9
• Schools: Richton, Seminary, Poplarville, Bassfield, Jefferson Davis County

5. Herbert Davis (Madison-Ridgeland Academy)

• Career Record: 236-99
• State Championships: 6

Schools: Winston Academy, Brookhaven Academy, Indianola Academy, Pillow Academy Cruger-Tchula Academy, Heritage Academy,  Lawrence County, Madison-Ridgeland Academy

6. Teddy Dyess (Clinton Christian)

• Career Record: 230-62
• State Championships: 3
• Schools: Lumberton, Philadelphia, Magee, Ridgeland, Clinton Christian

7. Tommy Nester (Indianola Academy)

• Career Record: 227-113
• State Championships: 2
• Schools: Oak Hill Academy, Carroll Academy, Indianola Academy

8. Anthony Hart (Lafeyette)

• Career Record: 227-77-1
• State Championships: 2
• Schools: West Lauderdale, Loyd Star, Franklin County, Lafayette, Madison Central, Brookhaven Academy

9. Perry Liles (Ripley)

• Career Record: 223-111-1
• State Championships: 1
• Schools: Aberdeen, Coffeeville, Charleston, Calhoun City, Ripley

10. Chris Chambless (West Point)

• Career Record: 208-54
• State Championships: 7
• Schools: Caledonia, West Point