NATCHEZ —Ron Rushing and James Herrington may not be first-year coaches with their own teams, but they’ll both be having an inaugural coaching experience this winter.

Rushing, the head football coach at Cathedral High School, and Herrington, the head coach football coach at Jefferson County High School, were both recently selected to coach in the MHSAA Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game in December.

The All-Star game features players from all MHSAA classifications, 1-6A, and Rushing and Herrington will both be assistant coaches for the South squad.

Ron Rushing

Rushing said he found out March 21 from Wesson High School head coach Tommy Clopton, who will be the head coach of the South squad this winter.

“He texted me and said he had some good news coming,” Rushing said. “I was excited, stunned kind of (when I found out). Being from a small school, I never thought I’d be chosen. I’ve been kind of bouncing around since finding out.”

The Mississippi Association of Coaches selects who will be coaching the North and South squads, and a coach must have been a head coach at least three years to get selected.

“This will be my third year,” Rushing said. “I filled out a form updating my records and mailed it in, and really didn’t think much of it.”

Rushing said he was already excited about the upcoming football season, but now that he’s coaching in the All-Star game, it’s gotten him even more excited.

“For one, this kind of puts our school’s name out there,” Rushing said. “I’ll get to coach with some really good guys, and learning from them will be nice. Maybe I’ll pick up a few things I can bring back here.”

Rushing said he was selected to coach in the MAIS All-Star game a few times when he coached in the private school league, but he always turned those opportunities down.

“We would find out only a couple of weeks before the game (that we were coaching),” Rushing said. “It was always the end of the year, and it’s kind of exhausting. With this, they let you know almost a year in advance, so you can plan ahead.”

James Herrington

Herrington said it’s a tremendous honor for him to represent Jefferson County in the All-Star game, and he hopes being there will help bring positive attention to the Tigers’ program.

“It’s a good opportunity, just getting the opportunity to mingle and mix and share coaching experiences with other coaches of great caliber,” Herrington said.

Herrington said he appreciates the positive attention this will bring to Jefferson County, and he was quick to credit his current and former assistant coaches for the strong seasons he’s had that allowed him the opportunity.

“My defensive coordinator Howard Clark and my offensive coordinator Harry Brown have done an outstanding job supporting the kids and making sure they do what they need to do on a daily basis,” Herrington said. “Coaches don’t get paid a lot, but they don’t do it for the pay. They put in a lot of hours.”

Herrington said his other assistant coaches that have come and gone through the years, as well as the rest of his current staff, have made his job in Fayette a lot easier.

“Any head coach will tell you, it’s more about the people around you than it is yourself,” Herrington said.

Herrington said he’s proud that his Tigers teams have made the playoffs all but one year of his tenure, and he’s hopeful they’ll eventually win a state championship.

“If we keep making the playoffs, one year, it’s going to be our year,” Herrington said.