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Caledonia Cavaliers · MHSAA 5A · Region 1-5A

2026 The Story

Year one for Coach Michael Campbell, written as it happens.

2–3record
+8rating · 12th of 24 in 5A
Oct. 9next · Columbus, at home
Next: Columbus · Fri, Oct. 9 · at CaledoniaRegion openerSwords Up!
Photo: Next Stage Media

The season, week by week

Numbers through Oct. 2.

Five games in, and already a season worth telling.

Ch. 1The Opening FiveAug. 28 – Sept. 25

  1. PreThe first lookPreseasonA first look at the 2026 Cavaliers, before the numbers.
  2. 1atItawamba AHSL 10–42A hard opener at Itawamba AHS: 42–10, 12 worse than the number.
  3. 2vsAmoryW 27–7The first win of the Campbell era, by 20.
  4. 3atLamarFeatureW 31–20The night the season turned: a 40-point swing at Lamar.
  5. 4vsNew AlbanyL 28–35One score short at home, 35–28.
  6. 5vsEast WebsterFeatureL 24–27Twenty-one points in about six minutes made it a three-point game.
  7. 6Open dateFri, Oct. 2Halfway through the regular season, the open date was a week to rest up, look back at the first five games and get ready for region play.

Ch. 2Region playOct. 9

  1. 7vsColumbusNext
Preseason

the jamboree at Houston

The first look

A first look at the 2026 Cavaliers, before the numbers.

Michael Kelly coached Caledonia for eight seasons, 2018 through 2025. He took over a program coming off an 0–10 season in 2017, and with 37 wins he became the winningest coach in Cavaliers history. The best of those years was 2021, an 11–3 season. The last two were hard ones. Caledonia went 2–7 in 2024. It went 1–9 in 2025. In January, Coach Kelly took the athletic director and head coaching job at Noxapater.

Caledonia turned to Michael Campbell. His path ran through Petal and Tupelo, through Itawamba AHS as offensive coordinator, and through a run as head coach at Smithville. He built a reputation for offenses that put up points. His first job was a different kind of number. When he was hired, Caledonia's roster was in the mid-40s. By summer workouts it was close to 80.

Spring and summer went to building a culture and setting standards, and to installing a new offense ahead of a Region 1-5A schedule that would test everybody. Fans lined summer practices to watch it take shape. The first real look came at the jamboree at Houston. It didn't count, but it was Caledonia's first look at what it had.

The field was muddy from the night before, and the new offense came out at a new tempo. Its first snap was a quick throw out to Caleb Lang. Finn Stubbendorff drove his first two kickoffs into the end zone. Zyon Washington ran down a Houston ball carrier from behind after a long run and saved a touchdown, and Maddox Lash stopped another run with a big hit. A Caledonia touchdown came on a 45-yard catch by Jaxson Medcalf, who got behind the safety. There were mistakes too, the kind a jamboree is for: two turnovers in the first quarter.

Could all of it show up on a Friday night that did count?

Coaching records: AHSFHS.org. Jamboree details: Caledonia Sports Radio Network broadcast.

Watch the highlightsAnother clipVideo: Next Stage Media

Hear the radio callBroadcast: Caledonia Sports Radio Network

Chapter 1Aug. 28 – Sept. 25

The Opening Five

A hard road to open Coach Campbell's first season.

Before the first snap, the numbers didn't think much of the 2026 Cavaliers. The Press Coverage Power Index started Caledonia at −4, 23rd in 5A, a rating carried over from the season before. The schedule made it harder. Four of the five opponents rated above Caledonia before the season. The numbers made the Cavaliers the underdog four times out of five, and the favorite only once, at home against Amory. Add up the chances, and the preseason numbers expected 1.3 wins from the Opening Five.

A new coach, a new offense and a much bigger roster were about to find out how much that number knew.

  1. East Webster2A+25
  2. LamarMAIS 3A+21
  3. New Albany4A+17
  4. Itawamba AHS4A+13
  5. Caledonia5A−4
  6. Amory4A−5
Press Coverage Power Index (PCPI), before the season: points better or worse than an average Mississippi team. The dashed line is Caledonia before the season.
Week 1

Fri, Aug. 28 · at Itawamba AHS

10–42

A hard opener

It was a perfect football night. Kickoff came as the sun went down at Itawamba AHS, and the Caledonia side was full of fans eager to see the debut of Coach Campbell's balanced spread attack. His first game was against the school where he had run the offense.

Before the season, the numbers had Itawamba AHS by 20. For a half, Caledonia played like it hadn't read them. The defense forced a three-and-out on the game's first series. Itawamba AHS got a short field after Caledonia's first series and scored on fourth down from the 1, but the Cavaliers came right back. Brody Watrous stood in against the rush and hit Caleb Lang on the sideline to convert a third down, and Finn Stubbendorff made a 40-yard field goal. Then Lang's punt return set Caledonia up in Itawamba AHS territory. Tyler Long came in at quarterback, ran the ball behind his tight ends and scored from the 1 just after the quarter turned. Caledonia led 10–7 in the second quarter.

The defense kept coming. Jaylon Washington and Jahiem Shinn stuffed a third-down run, Luke Larmour twice dropped the Itawamba AHS running back for a loss, and Jack McDowell met him at the handoff and ran him down. But Itawamba AHS kept running and finished an 84-yard drive to go back in front. Caledonia's next drive stalled near midfield, but Itawamba AHS was flagged for roughing the kicker on the punt, and the Cavaliers had a first down in Itawamba AHS territory. Watrous hit Xander Tate on a third-down dig to set up a 44-yard try. Stubbendorff had the distance, but it drifted wide. Itawamba AHS took over in its own end with the half nearly gone and hit a long touchdown pass on its first play. It was 21–10 at the break, and a game that had been even to that point was starting to get away.

Itawamba AHS was disciplined, and it won up front, wearing down a Caledonia team missing five starters. Caledonia didn't turn the ball over all night, but sacks, penalties and a dropped screen stalled its drives, and Itawamba AHS made the big plays. After Stubbendorff pinned it at its own 5, it went the length of the field in a handful of plays. It ended 42–10.

There were bright spots. Two seniors made their Caledonia debuts: Caleb Lang, electric in space at receiver and cornerback, and Jack McDowell at middle linebacker. Lang caught the third-down throw that set up the field goal and saved a likely interception in the fourth quarter by pulling the ball out of a defender's hands. Stubbendorff, a sophomore, sent all but one kickoff into the end zone, and his punts pinned Itawamba AHS at its own 5 and its own 4. Freshman safety Brantley Rickard blew up a counter in the backfield. And with Holden Counts already out and Gary Smart done early in the second quarter, freshman Darius Frierson played most of the night at running back and showed real promise. His three straight runs in the final minute of the half carried Caledonia across midfield.

Caledonia had opened on the road against the team that now rates highest on its schedule. But how does a team trying to build something new answer a night like that? Amory was coming to town for the home opener. Could the Cavaliers put the second half behind them and fix it?

Game details: Caledonia Sports Radio Network broadcast. Stats: MaxPreps.

Watch the highlightsAnother clipVideo: Next Stage Media

Hear the radio callBroadcast: Caledonia Sports Radio Network

The number before kickoff
Itawamba AHS by 20
The final
Lost by 32
Against the number
−12
PCPI after
−4 → −923rd → 23rd
the numberthe finaleven at the center line
Week 2

Fri, Sept. 4 · vs Amory

27–7

The first win of the Campbell era

The home opener was a new look from top to bottom: new gray jerseys, red pants and white helmets, a new logo, new banners and wind screens, tailgate tents in the end zone, and fireworks to start it. The first minute nearly spoiled it. Amory returned the opening kickoff to the Caledonia 30, and only Finn Stubbendorff tripping up the returner kept it from going all the way. Amory scored on its first drive. Caleb Lang answered with a kickoff return to the Amory 48, Tyler Long converted a fourth down on the way, and Long tied it on a 2-yard run through a tackle. Amory never scored again.

The turn came on special teams. Stubbendorff's short punt bounced off Amory's returner, JK Sherrod recovered it, Caledonia had the ball at the Amory 35, and six plays later Lang took a speed sweep 12 yards for the lead. Long went 45 yards untouched before the half, and Caledonia led 21–7. Gary Smart finished a drive from the 5 late in the third quarter, and in the fourth the Cavaliers ran the ball on 11 straight snaps before Long surprised Amory with a quick kick that rolled into the end zone. Long ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

The defense that gave up 42 at Itawamba AHS gave up seven. The pass rush chased Amory's quarterback all night. Jack McDowell had two sacks, and so did Hayden Jordan. In the third quarter, Amory had first and goal at the 7 and came away with nothing: freshman Maddox Lash stuffed a run, and two sacks pushed Amory back to the 20. Freshman safety Brantley Rickard and Mason Ali kept breaking up passes, and Rickard's breakup on a fourth-down throw he nearly intercepted turned Amory over on downs.

This was the one game the preseason numbers had Caledonia winning, by 7. The Cavaliers beat Amory by 20, and it was Caledonia's first home win since 2024. After the handshakes, Coach Campbell sent the team into the stands to celebrate with the band, the students and the fans. Then came the team picture in front of the scoreboard.

Next was Lamar, on the road, a team that had won 55–15 at Caledonia in 2025. The number had Lamar by 29. Was the Amory win the start of something, or a breather before the real test?

Game details: The Commercial Dispatch and the Caledonia Sports Radio Network broadcast. Stats: MaxPreps.

Hear the radio callBroadcast: Caledonia Sports Radio Network

The number before kickoff
Caledonia by 7
The final
Won by 20
Against the number
+13
PCPI after
−9 → −323rd → 22nd
the numberthe finaleven at the center line
Caledonia's players and coaches pose on the field after the game, under the scoreboard showing 27 to 7 with no time left
The team kneels together around its coaches on the field after the game, seen from above
Fireworks over the school after dark, seen from above
A Caledonia defender closes in as a teammate brings Amory's ball carrier down
Caledonia's players head back up the field in front of the home stands and the band
Caledonia's linemen drive off the snap against Amory

Week 2 in picturesPhotos: Jonathan Garner

Caledonia's linemen drive into Lamar's defenders under a stormy evening sky
Photo: Next Stage Media
Week 3

Fri, Sept. 11 · at Lamar

The model had Lamar by 29.Caledonia won by 11.

Rain fell from before kickoff, and neither school's band was there, so the whole stadium could hear the hits, the calls and the coaches. Caledonia didn't wait. Jaxson Medcalf returned the opening kickoff deep into Lamar territory, and Tyler Long finished the drive from a yard out. After Lamar fumbled a screen late in the first quarter, Caledonia drove to fourth and inches at the 4. Brody Watrous wasn't ready for the snap, scrambled away and flipped it to Medcalf, wide open at the back of the end zone. A long drive, with Long's runs and Gary Smart's 17-yard trap, ended in Finn Stubbendorff's 39-yard field goal in the rain with seconds left, and it was 17–6 at the half.

Lamar's own radio broadcast called Caledonia's fumble recovery at the end of the first quarter the pivotal play. By the end, it gave Caledonia credit as the better team. Caledonia's size wore Lamar down as the game went on. Lamar opened the third quarter by driving past midfield, but its fourth-and-2 sneak came up a yard short. Then Rico Smith took back-to-back screens behind JK Sherrod's blocks, the second 39 yards for a touchdown. Lang's long reverse set up Smart's touchdown in the fourth, his blockers pushing him in.

The passing game looked its best yet, with well-blocked screens to Caleb Lang and Rico Smith. The Cavaliers didn't turn the ball over. They took the ball with 11 minutes left and kept it for the rest of the game, 15 plays with Long, Smart and Holden Counts, in his first game of the season, running behind the linemen. They took a knee inside the Lamar 10 rather than score again. The Caledonia broadcast gave its game ball to the linemen.

Before the season, the numbers had Lamar by 30. Caledonia won 31–20. Nothing on the schedule says more about what a preseason number can't see. The PCPI went from −3 to +9 that night. No 5A team climbed more that week. Statewide, only Amory climbed more, and Caledonia had beaten Amory the week before. Caledonia climbed from 22nd to 11th in 5A.

Afterward, the team celebrated with its fans in the visitor stands and took its picture in front of the scoreboard, as it had after Amory. Now the Cavaliers were the team with something to protect. New Albany was coming to Caledonia, and for the first time all season, the number made it a coin flip. Could they handle being expected to win?

Game details: Lamar's radio broadcast and the Caledonia Sports Radio Network broadcast.

Watch the highlightsVideo: Next Stage Media

Hear the radio callBroadcast: Caledonia Sports Radio Network

even Lamar by 29 Won by 11
+40against the number, the biggest swing of the seasonTurning point
The number before kickoff
Lamar by 29
The final
Won by 11
Against the number
+40
PCPI after
−3 → +922nd → 11th
Week 4

Fri, Sept. 18 · vs New Albany

28–35

One score short

In August, the numbers had New Albany by 15. By kickoff, after Lamar, they had New Albany by 1. That's how far the Cavaliers had come in three weeks.

It started like a continuation of Lamar. Zyon Washington intercepted New Albany on its first possession, and Tyler Long finished the next drive by scrambling for a 16-yard touchdown on third and 11. New Albany answered with two touchdowns. Just before the half, Long hit Caleb Lang on an out, the ball was knocked loose, and Jaxson Medcalf scooped it up and ran it in. It was 14–14 at the half.

Early in the third quarter, Long broke a 45-yard run, and Caledonia was stopped at the 1 on fourth down. Jack McDowell held New Albany's next run to a short gain, but on the snap after that, New Albany went 97 yards for the lead. Caledonia answered by converting three fourth downs on one drive: Long on a sweep, a screen to Gary Smart out of a trick formation, and Lang's 27-yard reverse. Two plays later, Long pitched to Lang from the 3 for the tying touchdown. On New Albany's next snap, Mason Ali, a sophomore safety, jumped the route and returned an interception about 40 yards for a touchdown. That was 14 points in less than 30 seconds. Caledonia led 28–21.

New Albany tied it on a 34-yard run. Tied late, Caledonia threw to try to reach field-goal range, and New Albany intercepted. It was Caledonia's first turnover of the season, and New Albany scored on a 24-yard run two plays later. It ended 35–28.

New Albany earned it. Its offensive line controlled the game up front, and running back Kylen Knox had the explosive plays all night, with 261 yards on 21 carries and four rushing touchdowns. Long ran for 185 yards and threw for a touchdown. In 2025, New Albany had won 66–21. On the scoreboard it was a loss. In the numbers it was a team playing a 4A opponent into the final minutes, a few weeks after the preseason ratings said it would lose by more than two touchdowns.

But close only counts for so much. East Webster was next, the defending 2A champion and winners of 18 straight. How would a young team carry a loss like that into a night like that?

Game details: The Commercial Dispatch (Sept. 19) and the Caledonia Sports Radio Network broadcast.

Watch the highlightsAnother clipVideo: Next Stage Media

Hear the radio callBroadcast: Caledonia Sports Radio Network

The number before kickoff
New Albany by 1
The final
Lost by 7
Against the number
−6
PCPI after
+9 → +911th → 14th
the numberthe finaleven at the center line
A Caledonia player walks the field under the lights against East Webster
Photo: Next Stage Media
Week 5

Fri, Sept. 25 · vs East Webster

Twenty-one points in about six minutes made it a three-point game.

East Webster came in on an 18-game winning streak, the state's longest active streak, and it was Caledonia's homecoming. Before the season, the numbers had the Wolverines by 19. Caledonia opened with a long drive, most of it on the ground, and Finn Stubbendorff's 37-yard field goal put it ahead. Then the defense stopped East Webster on downs at the 19, where Mason Ali and Luke Larmour broke up passes, and again at the 14. For a half, Caledonia ran the ball and controlled the line of scrimmage.

But the half turned on mistakes. A fourth-down double pass sailed over a wide-open Jaxson Medcalf, a high snap was lost in East Webster territory and set up its touchdown, and a 34-yard field goal went wide just before the break. East Webster led 7–3 at the half.

East Webster pulled away after halftime. Zyon Washington intercepted a pass in the third quarter, but a blocked punt led to a fourth-down touchdown, and a long touchdown pass came with six seconds left in the quarter. An interception returned for a touchdown made it 27–3 with about 10 minutes left.

Then the Cavaliers came alive. Aiden Barksdale recovered a fumble at the East Webster 29, and Holden Counts ran it in. Caleb Lang caught two touchdown passes from Brody Watrous, and the defense forced a punt after each score. Lang finished with 11 catches for 104 yards.

Caledonia got the ball back at its own 41 with under three minutes left. Medcalf made a diving catch, and Rico Smith took a drag 20 yards to the East Webster 19. Then a sack and a loss pushed Caledonia back. The 51-yard try was clean and straight. It came up about three yards short. East Webster held on, 27–24. Caledonia beat the number by 5 but didn't beat the Wolverines.

It was Caledonia's second one-score loss in two weeks, both to good teams. Was this a team that had learned how to lose close, or one about to learn how to win them?

Game details: Caledonia Sports Radio Network broadcast. Stats: MaxPreps.

Watch the highlightsAnother clipVideo: Next Stage Media

Hear the radio callBroadcast: Caledonia Sports Radio Network

21points in about six minutes of the fourth quarter
The number before kickoff
East Webster by 8
The final
Lost by 3
Against the number
+5
PCPI after
+9 → +914th → 14th
the numberthe finaleven at the center line

Chapter 1 · the rating, week by week

From 23rd to 14th in 5A

Most of the climb came in one night at Lamar.

On the scoreboard, Caledonia went 2–3 in the Opening Five. The numbers tell a fuller story. The preseason numbers expected 1.3 wins, and Caledonia won two, one of them the upset at Lamar. The two losses that followed both came down to the final minutes, against teams the preseason numbers had favored by more than two touchdowns.

The signs ran the other way for East Webster. The Wolverines won by only 3 at Caledonia, 5 points short of their own number. The next Friday, Kemper County beat them 45–20 and ended the streak at 19.

Now the games count in a different way. Region play opens next, at home against Columbus, and four of the six teams in Caledonia's Region 1-5A reach the 5A playoffs. The Opening Five showed the Cavaliers can play with good teams. Can they beat them when it counts?

Beat Columbus and keep going.

−15−10−5avg+5+10+15 −423rd Pre W1 W2 W3 W4 +914th W5 at Lamar
PCPI after each week · Caledonia's rank in 5A at either end

Week 6 · Fri, Oct. 2 · open date

The open date

Halfway through the regular season, the open date was a week to rest up, look back at the first five games and get ready for region play.

And for one Friday night, the town of Caledonia had nowhere to be.

Chapter 2Oct. 9

Region play

Region play opens at home.

Last season was Caledonia's first in Region 1-5A, and it went 1–4 against the region. Caledonia's only win of the whole season came at Columbus, 34–14.

The Cavaliers came into region play at 2–3. After Week 6, the open date, they rated 12th of 24 in 5A. Four of the other five teams in the region rated above them. Only Columbus, 0–5 at the open date, rated below them, and Columbus came to Caledonia first.

A year earlier, Caledonia hadn't won a game until October. This time, it started region play with two wins already behind it.

Next up · the region opener · Friday, Oct. 9 · at Caledonia

ColumbusatCaledonia
95%Caledonia's chance to winCaledonia by 23

How the Columbus number is built

Every projection is three numbers added up. Here's the next one.

Region play opens at home against Columbus, 0–5 and rated last of 24 in 5A. Columbus has been outscored 221–40, though four of the five were against bigger schools. The model has Caledonia by 23 and gives it a 95% chance.

Caledonia's rating
+8
minus Columbus's rating
+13
home edge
+2
The number
+23 → Caledonia by 23
The Playoff Push · Region 1-5A

Beat Columbus, and keep going

On the numbers through Oct. 2, two region wins would give Caledonia a 57% chance at the playoffs. Three would make it a 99% chance.

Four of six reach the 5A playoffs, seeded by region record. Region games only; nobody has played one yet.

57%in, with two region wins
99%in, with three region wins
47%today's chance

Projected region wins, of 5

  • Pontotoc4.0
  • New Hope3.5
  • Lafayette2.9
  • West Point2.6
  • Caledonia1.9
  • Columbus0.1

20,000 simulated region seasons · Ratings after Week 6. Projected region wins: each team's region wins so far plus its win chances in the region games left, added up. It's what the ratings expect, not a prediction of the standings.

The record

Every game, every number
WkDateGameFinalThe numberAgainst the numberPCPI after
1Fri, Aug. 28atItawamba AHS10–42Itawamba AHS by 20 −12 −923rd
2Fri, Sept. 4vsAmory27–7Caledonia by 7 +13 −322nd
3Fri, Sept. 11atLamar31–20Lamar by 29 +40 +911th
4Fri, Sept. 18vsNew Albany28–35New Albany by 1 −6 +914th
5Fri, Sept. 25vsEast Webster24–27East Webster by 8 +5 +914th

Still to play

WkDateGameThe numberCaledonia's chance
7Fri, Oct. 9vsColumbusCaledonia by 2395%

+8 a game against the number, 2nd of 24 in 5A. The number is rebuilt the same way for every game: each one projected only from the games before it.

Numbers through Oct. 2.

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