Only eight more days and the excitement that high school football brings to Gentry High School and Indianola will arrive.
For the Gentry High Rams will open their 2025 season next Saturday, August 30, when they travel to Greenville Weston High School.
However, a sneak preview of this new version of the Rams can be seen at 7 p.m. today at Gentry High School. It will be the Cubs of Leland High who will arrive for a scrimmage against the Rams.
Regarding the upcoming season, a major new detail the players and fans will see comes due to regional realignment. This season, the Rams are now in Region 4-4A, a move which includes a pair of new regional foes to battle.
Once again under the command of second-year Head Coach Derrick Farrow, the Rams will face a very formidable regional challenge this year.
The list of four opponents the Rams must face in regional play includes Louisville High School, the winningest football program in Mississippi history.
Additional competition will come from never-before-played Kosciusko High and a pair of familiar opponents in the form of Greenwood High and Yazoo City High schools.
In addition to Louisville High and Kosciusko High, the Rams’ 10-game schedule will also include another new opponent a Gentry High football team has never played against. This contest will occur in week four of the 2025 season when the Rams host Hazlehurst High School in a non-regional contest.
Dropped from this year’s schedule are Canton High School, Center Hill High from Olive Branch, Cleveland Central High, and Germantown High from Madison.
With a total of 11 returning starters back to claim positions earned last season, the Rams are intent on vastly improving on the 1-10 record suffered a year ago.
It was a tough season in 2024 as the Rams struggled on both sides of the ball. Offensively, that squad recorded a 7.6-points-per-game scoring average while they were stung by allowing an average of 37.2 points per game.
Given the almost dozen returning starters, the hope is that positive change will occur this season.
Concerning his 2025 team, Coach Farrow noted, “I expect our team to be smart, fast, and physical collectively throughout the season. We will lean on our defense early in the season to put us in position to win games, while the offense continues to build its identity and cohesion.”
As for the returning starters who will be leaned on for success, seven of them will reside on the defensive side of the ball.
Four of those players will occupy secondary positions and include cornerbacks Marquis James (5’10”, 168 lbs.) and Justin Minton (5’9”, 170 lbs.).
At the strong safety position, Jacorvin Little (5’9”, 170 lbs.) will be found while Daniel Richardson (5’10”, 172 lbs.) stands in at the free safety slot.
Upfront, Bryce Jones (5’10”, 228 lbs.) and Glenn Harris Jr. will play at the defensive end positions.
The second level of the defense will feature Marcus Johnson Jr. (5’10”, 210 lbs.) once again standing in at the middle linebacker position.
On the other side of the line of scrimmage, there is but one returning starter in the offensive line. That position will be filled by Brayden Jones (6’2”, 278 lbs.).
At running back, Jacorey Courtney (5’7”, 170 lbs.) brings his 4.4 speed back to the ground game.
Once again playing the wide receiver positions will be Fabien Washington Jr. (5’11”, 185 lbs.) and Kilpatrick Sibley Jr. (6’, 160 lbs.).
Sibley is one of three players competing for the quarterback position as Coach Farrow lists his athleticism as a strength while Jadarius Gibson Jr. (accuracy) and Ashton Simpson (arm strength) are also vying to take snaps under center.
Coach Farrow also lists five players he hopes will make an impact on the field this season.
This roster of players includes Gibson (quarterback), Westley Jernigan (offensive line), Curtis Miller (offensive line), Kerry Woodfork (defensive line), and D’Angelo Wright (wide receiver).
With a total roster of 45-50 players on hand when the season begins, Coach Farrow has six assistants and a manager on hand to guide the players.
That group of assistants includes Trell Finely (linebackers), Willie Gilson (offensive line), Eddie Ivory (offensive coordinator), Orlando Liddell (defensive line), Justin Raggs (offensive line), Aaron Webb (defensive backs), and Tyandrea Williams (manager).
