City Personals
Marshall Academy is all about building lifelong bonds amongst students and teachers alike. The first photograph is Caitlyn Bray when she was a student and a cheerleader holding Charlie Johnson when she was a Marshall Mini back in 2012. The second photograph was taken Friday night as Caitlyn is now an upper elementary teacher at Marshall Academy, as well as varsity cheer coach, and Charlie is a senior and homecoming queen. It has come full circle for these two ~ Caitlyn creating legacies with students and Charlie leaving her legacy one accomplishment at a time.
Friday morning, the square was transformed with a sea of fabulous homecoming floats. This coveted parade has become quite the event in town, as students from seventh grade to twelfth at Marshall Academy convert regular old pull behind trailers into moving pieces of artwork depicting their homecoming theme for the season. This year’s theme was “Land of the Free, Home of the Patriots”. Each grade was given a branch of the military to portray. Seventh-grade had the Marines, eighth the Air Force and nineth- graders had the newly formed Space Force. The seventh grade float was beyond moving, as they reenacted the Iwo Jima Memorial. If you are unfamiliar, it is a bronze monument in Washington, D.C. with six Marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi from World War II. Their float won for the junior high division.
The sophomores had the Coast Guard, the juniors the Army and the seniors had the Navy. As impressive as they all were, the sophomores knocked it out of the park. They constructed not only a life size helicopter from scratch, they also had a life size boat directly behind the helicopter. Below that was a rescue boat being pulled behind the trailer. Waves were artistically painted and placed around the trailer. A true water rescue scene unfolded on what began as a simple gooseneck trailer. The sophomores took gold in high school.
The students went back to the school and had a morning full of fun games, brunch and introduction of the homecoming court.
Greenville Christian was on tap for the homecoming football game. It was definitely an uneven matchup, as the Patriots trounced on them, winning the game 42-14. During halftime, the court was once again introduced, as well as both the junior high and varsity cheer squads. The moment finally came when the homecoming queen was announce – Senior Charlie Johnson. The mention of her name sent a roar through the stands and claps galore. She is the epitome of a true, Southern homecoming queen from top to bottom, inside and out. Her kindness far outshines any other attribute, although she has way too many to list. Congratulations to the 2025 Marshall Academy Homecoming Queen, Charlie Johnson. The mark she is leaving on her school is indelible.
The Marshall Academy Class of 1985 celebrated their 40th class reunion Friday, September 26th. The class met on the Marshall Academy campus early that afternoon to have a guided tour of the school by Mr. Taylor, MA’s current headmaster, so they could see and learn about all the changes that have taken place since they left in 1985. They then enjoyed a meal prepared by the Patriot Grill. The school set up a tent with chairs in the end zone so they could visit and watch the homecoming game on the field named in memory of one of their classmates, Heath Barnett. Friends from several other classes and a few of their teachers came by the tent to visit. The Class of 85 had a great time reliving old memories and thanked Mr. Taylor and the MA staff for their hospitality.
Monday, Cleveland, Mississippi, was the sight of a battle royale. The Lady Patriots softball team traveled down to continue their legacy of being state champions. As a former softball parent myself, you get used to the only people cheering are you, the parents, siblings and a few stragglers. Coach Chris Bunio, head football coach, said “not today.” He loaded up the varsity football team and took off to the flatlands of the Delta. He knows the importance of fans in the stands, players supporting players and most especially, friends supporting friends. Create a winning atmosphere and winning you shall receive.
The girls started off a little slowly. Tri-County took the first game with a 3-1 score placing the Lady Patriots in a precarious position. They were now going to have to scrape and scrounge to crawl back to the top. It is a good thing that team is scrappy. They wound up playing three more games back to back to back. They took down Leake in a nail biter 9-8. Next up was Tri-County again. Best two out of three with that team since they had cinched the first win of the day. The girls buckled down, locked in and beat them 9-8 in another chair gripping game. In the last game, for all the marbles, the ladies once more put on their game faces. At the end of a grueling day of making plays and swinging bats, the Lady Patriots came out on top trouncing Tri-County 6-3. Once again, they brought home the North Half State Tournament championship. They get a break before starting play for the State Championship. Way to go, ladies, and good luck on bringing it all home once again.