By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

LUCEDALE — George County is playing in its fourth state baseball championship series in two different classifications in the past decade.

Will the Rebels break though and bring home their first state title since 1997 and just their second one ever?

Only time will tell, but veteran head coach Brandon Davis hopes his squad has what it takes to do just that.

George County will face Warren Central in the Class 6A state championship match-up next week at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Game one in the best-of-three series is set for Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m., at the home of the Class AA Mississippi Braves, with game two set for the same time on Friday.

“It’s a privilege to be in this position once again,” Davis said, after practice Friday afternoon.

And despite the fact that Davis and his squad came up short in 2015, 2016 and 2018, Davis knows something about winning a state championship at George County High School. He was a standout player for the Rebels in 1997 when the Rebels captured that state championship on the road over Northwest Rankin.

“It comes down to which team plays the best and executes their game plan,” Davis added.

This is Davis’ 13th season at the helm of his alma mater, and the Rebels played for the Class 5A state title in 2015 before vying for the Class 6A state crown in 2016 and 2018. George County was swept by Oxford in that first trip and by Madison Central in that second trip. The last time GCHS was in the state finals, it took game one from Desoto Central before dropping the final two contests.

However, it’s not like Davis has come away from all of his trips with a second place trophy. In addition to his state title as a player for George County 27 years ago, as the head coach at Richton High, where he served before he came back home to take over the reins at his alma mater, he led that band of Rebels to state titles three times in 2007, 2008 and 2010.

“I’ve won three and lost three, and that has been the case every time,” Davis concluded. “It comes down to which team plays the best and executes their game plan. At this point what makes the difference is believing you can get it done.”