Mid-mississippi Challenge event proves big deal

Choctaw County coach Chris Pettit wasn’t exactly sure what he was walking into when he was tasked with setting up the annual Mid-mississippi Challenge, but he’s learned pretty quickly how big of a deal it really is.

The Chargers have hosted the event in Ackerman for a long time now and with the exit of former basketball coach Gary Beals, Pettit is now in charge in conjunction with administration, volunteers and countless others at the school.

This year’s event is a return from a year off. COVID-19 canceled last year’s Challenge and the illness is still rearing its ugly head in 2022, but it’s manageable enough to play through it and there are plenty of big time teams waiting to clash.

“I’ve always known about it, but I didn’t realize it was as big a deal until I got here,” Pettit said of the Midmississippi Challenge. “Neshoba is number one in the state and Olive Branch is good every year so that should be a good matchup. Starkville and Kosciusko (girls) should be a really good matchup as well. We know how good Choctaw Central is every year. Puckett is good year in and year out. Louisville is a good team as well.

“I think we have some good matchups. There might be some better ones around Jackson, but you’re going to be hard pressed to find a better day of basketball than this in this area.”

It’s a schedule that is still influx with COVID causing some teams to sit out. The tournament is usually centered around girls basketball teams, but there’s at least a couple of boys games scheduled for area squads.

Choctaw County girls are slated to tip things off against West Lowndes at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday followed by East Webster boys against Mcadams and the Lady Wolverines against Morton at 11:30 a.m.. Louis

ville girls are expected to play Puckett, Neshoba Central faces Olive Branch and Starkville girls meet Kosciusko. The

Choctaw Central boys and Chargers will close things out around 8:30 p.m. and there are still some schools that Pettit is trying to get finalized to pull the schedule together.

For the Chargers, the boys are in the middle of battling

for Class 2A, Region 2 and Pettit will get a chance to play a measuring stick game against a good Warriors squad. It’s also a chance to see who can win the best two out of three in girls hoops against West Lowndes.

“Boys are finishing up against one of the top 4A teams in the state in Choctaw Central,” Pettit said. “We need to play that competition to see where we are as a team. If we want to compete for a district title and

ultimately get to Jackson, this is a team to show how far we’ve come. This is the third time our girls have played the West Lowndes girls and this is the rubber match for us. I just hope that everybody is healthy on all of these teams

and playing their best players. At this point, you just go play the games.”

Fans can take part in the 14th Annual event on Saturday beginning at 8:30 a.m. and running all day at the Ty Cobb Gymnasium.