In taking the Huntington Hounds to within one game of a state championship, head coach David Boydstun and do-it-all senior Antonio Jordan are The Natchez Democrat’s 2007 All-Metro Coach and Player of the Year.

The duo also took home the award last season.

Since taking over the program two years ago and bringing Jordan and several other players with him, Boydstun has led the Hounds to a record of 62-8, and this year earned trips to the MPSA Class A state championship game (a 60-44 loss to West Memphis Christian) and the semifinals of the MPSA Overall Tournament.

“My first year there, we had three kids that came in new to the school and I was new to the program,” Boydstun said. “It took us a little while to get started and for them to get comfortable. This year a lot of things came to the team automatically. They played well together. It was a good group of kids. They’re friends on and off the court.”

In a season with numerous accomplishments, including being the top-ranked team in Class A for most of the season, Jordan said the Hounds’ South State championship win over Trinity was what stood out for him.

“Beating Trinity for the South State title at home was good,” he said. “We beat our rivals.”

Jordan said his thunderous dunk to close out the game is also something he’ll remember about the season.

“It was perfect timing,” he said. “They knew it was over after that.”

While Jordan will admit himself he isn’t much of a talker, Boydstun said his top player led on the floor.

“(Antonio) could do so many things,” he said. “He plays well, and he leads with his actions. He’s not very much of a talker, but he was always playing hard, always even-tempered and he always played well. He led with his actions, made plays and made others around him better.”

Jordan said he is still unsure of where he may play college ball, but he has nothing but good memories to look back on of his time at Huntington.

“I had a pretty good career,” he said. “I wish it could’ve gone a little better. I’m happy with the way everything went, though. I couldn’t ask for much more.

“I’m just going to remember going out every night and playing hard — just playing basketball with my friends.”

Boydstun, on the other hand, is looking to the future and building the foundation for a basketball program at Huntington School.

“That was my idea when I got here — to build a program,” he said. “We want to try to be competitive every year. I feel like we’ve got a good group coming back, and it’s a good start on building a program.”