The Marion County Championship is no more after nearly 25 years, as the Marion County Athletic Commission retired the trophy June 20 and donated it and the Most Valuable Player trophy to the Marion County Historical Society and Museum.
The championship, first implemented in 1999 by founding members Paul Pounds, Hilton Holmes and Eagle Day, was competed for when East Marion, West Marion and Columbia all competed against each other on the gridiron. According to Pounds, the NFL Board of Directors started a high school competition program in Mississippi, with Marion County being selected as one of its first districts. Day served as the NFL representative, with Pounds serving as the Columbia Recreation Director and Holmes representing Custom Trophy & Engraving.
As a result of the Eagles and Wildcats no longer scheduling each other in football, the decision was made to ultimately put the Marion County Championship on ice.
“It happened because (Columbia), I guess, wanted to improve their schedule,” Pounds explained. “They wanted to upgrade it like that. So when they did that, they just didn’t want to play (East Marion) any more.”
“It was tough,” Holmes said on the decision to end the championship. “It was a hell of a ride.”
After the Wildcats claimed the inaugural crown in 1999, the trio of Day, Pounds and Holmes decided to start honoring the county’s most valuable player as well. In 2000, Columbia’s Antoiuine Brown was named the first-ever Marion County MVP.
“The first thing we thought about was honoring the winning team each year. Then Eagle Day came up with the idea of a Heisman Trophy to honor the most valuable player,” Pounds recalled. “The coaches would get together, Hilton would get together and I would get together, and this was the most valuable player in the county.”
It was a collaborative effort in the MVP selection process, as not only the committee and coaches deliberated, but Holmes said he often asked the opinion of local broadcasters and journalists to cover a broader scope.
“What I would do is call folks like (Joshua Campbell) and get his opinion, and back then Tommy McDaniel, the radio man up here. I would call the broadcaster that broadcast each game, and I would talk to them,” Holmes explained. “I put my soul in this thing because we wanted to make sure the best got this trophy.”
The battles were often fierce between the Eagles, Trojans and Wildcats, as there isn’t one team that stands above the rest by the numbers. Between 1999 and 2022 – not counting the 2005 season that was derailed by Hurricane Katrina – Columbia and West Marion won eight Marion County Championships apiece with East Marion right behind with seven.
Joey Porter won the first two championships as Columbia’s head coach, with esteemed coaches such as Leslie Peters of East Marion, Brad Duncan of West Marion, Perry Coggins of West Marion and Chip Bilderback of Columbia all bringing the trophy home at some point. Duncan won the most Marion County Championships as a head coach with seven between 2010 and 2020.
There were no shortage of talented football stars to win MVP awards, Pounds and Holmes recalled.
“Jimmy Oliver comes to mind,” Holmes said. “Johnathan Abram comes to mind. (Jeremiah) Holmes from West Marion – he comes to mind.”
“The ones that made it to the NFL,” Pounds said with a chuckle.
Holmes said there was an effort to name Marion County champions in sports such as basketball, baseball and softball, but the coaches couldn’t agree, he said. There were talks to include Columbia Academy, as well, but nothing ever materialized.
The door isn’t shut on the Marion County Championship returning, but Pounds said it would take both East Marion and Columbia resuming play and all the coaches in the county coming to an agreement.
“That would be a big if,” Pounds said. “If the coaches want (to resume playing), we would restart it.”
The championship and MVP trophies are on display in the sports section of the Marion County Historical Society and Museum in downtown Columbia.
