By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

CARRIERE — Last season, the football team at Pearl River Central produced its first winning season in 10 years.

Now, the Blue Devils have their sights set on recording their first state playoff win since that same 2015 season as they enter a new year.

Entering his third season as head coach at PRC, head coach John Feaster guided the Blue Devils to five more wins last season than the squad had in year one of his tenure.

The Blue Devils get a smattering of returning starters back on both sides of the ball this season as they aim for consecutive winning seasons for the first time in 11 years.

“On offense, I think we have six returning, and on defense we have five or six returners,” Feaster said, in a recent interview. “Kids change and leadership changes, but the standard is the standard. Year in and year out, you’ve got to have the standard, and our standard is bring your best, play to the standard, not the scoreboard, and that’s the main thing for our kids. Make sure we’re playing to the standard and blocking out the outside noise, and I feel like we’re moving in the direction of that.”

Offensively, the head coach is quite familiar with one of those returning starters behind center, as his son Titus Feaster is back for his junior season after piling up some impressive numbers last year.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound younger Feaster threw for 2,120 yards with 19 touchdowns and added 953 yards on the ground with 13 touchdowns as well, resulting in almost 3,100 yards of total offense and 32 total touchdowns last season.

Included in that work sheet was an almost inexplicable performance in a 49-21 Region 4-6A win on Halloween night over Long Beach in which Feaster dazzled the Bearcats, completing 18 of 20 passes for 448 yards along with six touchdowns and turned three carries into 77 yards while rushing for yet another score.

Then, the following week, he kept the momentum going as PRC motored into Lee-Triplett Stadium and recorded a stunning 28-21 road upset over arch-rival and perennial state power Picayune in the last region game of the season to secure that trip to the Class 6A South State playoffs.

Feaster shined bright like a diamond in that one as well, accounting for all four Blue Devil touchdowns, running for two and throwing for two more. He also ended the night with just over 350 yards of total offense, including 183 yards passing.

Unfortunately for QB1, his top two targets are gone from last year in Qorday Russell and his brother J.J. Feaster along with over 1,200 yards of reception yardage and 12 touchdowns. He does have versatile, multi-sport standout Kendall Morrison back after Morrison hauled in 626 yards of receptions and six scores while rushing for over 100 yards as well.

Up front, stalwart offensive tackle Carter Kirby, also a returning starter, will be a key as well.

Running back Kaden Hinton looks to play a bigger role after rushing for almost 500 yards last season.

On defense, linebacker Anthony Carpenter is back after making 87 total tackles last year, while Easton Smith will patrol the secondary, where he recorded 64 stops last year.

“This is one of the best offseasons that I have had as a head coach, and the reason I say that is because we are going into year three and the amount of progress that we have made from year one to now,” the elder Feaster concluded. “It has really only been 26 months. I feel like the progress has been tremendous this offseason. I feel like we are coming together as a team and I am looking forward to what the season has to offer.”

The Blue Devils open the new season on the road in Waynesboro against Wayne County on Fri., Aug. 28th.