Winning coach and his do-everything QB make a winner out of downtrodden MS Coast program

Seven hundred and twenty one days is a lot of time.

It was nearly two years of a drought that encompassed 17 games and 17 losses for Pearl River Central, but it came to an end Friday when the Blue Devils raced through Bay High, 56-35.

The win lifted a weight lingering on the back of a program now guided by John Feaster.

“It feels awesome, it makes (the players) believe a little more,” Feaster said. “That’s where we’ve been battling with is the trust in the process. Trusting the process sounds good until you have to trust it. And so I think they’re going to trust in this process a little bit more now.”

Pearl River Central endured a 2023 season that came and went without a win, with eight of nine losses coming by double digits and six coming by more than 30 points.

Friday’s victory put an end to an even longer streak: 1,086 days without a road win.

“It feels like a moment we really needed, something that has been long overdue,” quarterback Qorday Russell said. “Because of that win, every day we’re trusting more in the process.”

Feaster understands the process more than most. The former Sun Herald Coach of the Year took over a Stone program that hadn’t had a winning season in seven years and guided the Tomcats to seven consecutive playoff trips and the school’s first district title since 1994 in 2022.

He also spent a year at Moss Point where he walked into a locker room with just 21 kids and then came three points away from making the playoffs.

Now the Picayune graduate is back in his home county where he helped guide the 2015 Blue Devils to 11 wins and a trip to the second round of the postseason as defensive coordinator. It was Feaster’s last year on staff and the last time PRC would play any extra football.

Feaster returns with an understanding of how to build a program on a foundation of personal investment and culture.

“I felt like the culture needed to change,” Feaster said of what he walked into when he was hired. “I showed them gratitude in advance. We painted the whole field house, got new weights coming, got a new washer and dryer. Just little things like that to show kids we’re investing in them.

“X’s and O’s come easy, but we’re trying to transform boys into men and that’s what I’m going to do. If you can build the person, you’re going to have a good football player. Culture beats strategy all the time.”

His players have responded. As evident in the competitive losses to South Jones, Pass Christian and Poplarville, the Blue Devils are done going through the motions and are playing with a greater motivation.

“The attitude has shifted,” leading tackler Garrett Ouder said. “We’re coming out here working hard, working with a purpose. When you have a purpose to follow it gives everyone a sense of unity.”

Feaster’s secret weapon

When asked before the season on his plans around an athlete that may be the Mississippi Coast’s best kept secret, Feaster said he wanted to “keep him a secret.”

That may be hard to do now that Russell has led the Blue Devils offense to four straight games of 28 or more points — a feat not accomplished at PRC since 2018.

Russell has thrown for 676 yards and eight touchdowns to zero interceptions, rushed for 442 yards and another 11 scores and has a 22-yard receiving touchdown.

To top it all off, the junior is averaging over 50 yards per punt.

“He’s just a kid who loves to have fun,” Feaster said. “For him, football is fun. He’s an exceptional athlete and an exceptional talent. The kids look up to him. They’ve known him his whole life around here, but now everybody on the Coast is going to get to know him.”

Russell was responsible for eight touchdowns against the Tigers. Four of those on the ground to compliment his 174 rushing yards and another four through the air with his 211 passing yards.

His 20 touchdowns responsible for are the most in the state and he’s currently one of only two players with a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown.

“I wouldn’t do any of that without my team,” Russell said. “My receivers catching the ball, my O-line blocking for me and giving me time to throw the ball. I wouldn’t succeed without my (teammates).”

Setting the foundation

Russell and his fellow upperclassmen know it won’t take a single practice, game or season to take the program where it needs to be.

Feaster preaches incremental achievement and the first goal has been checked off the board.

“Our goal was to get the monkey off our back and win one,” Feaster said. “The next goal is to play 10 games for these seniors and we want that 10th game to be a playoff game.”

For seniors like Ouder, leaving a legacy that can be built on is the ultimate goal. Ouder is averaging double-digit tackles with 53 stops through five games. He hopes his hard work and desire to grow something bigger than him will wear off on those around him.

“We’re really big into working hard and getting people around us to work hard,” Ouder said. “You can’t establish a culture if you don’t have people following you.”

Pearl River Central has a bye week before district play begins with Forest Hill. The Blue Devils are 0-3 all time against the Patriots and riding an eight-game district losing streak.

Feaster believes success will come as long as the culture continues to improve.

“Our goal is to continue to bring our best each and every week,” Feaster said. “With belief and if we continue to improve, we got a chance. Anything is possible.”