The Pearl River Central High School football team will be under new leadership this fall.

Jacob Owen, formerly the offensive coordinator for the Poplarville Hornets football team, has been recommended by the Pearl River County School Board of Trustees to become the team’s new Head Football Coach, Superintendent Alan Lumpkin said.

“I’m excited about this new opportunity and I’m ready to get to work,” Owen said. “I want to thank my family for everything that they sacrificed in order for me to be here and being a head coach has been a goal of mine for a long time and I can’t wait to get started.”

Owen is a PRC alumnus, graduating in 2001. He was a nose guard his junior year for the Blue Devils and became the team’s starting quarterback during his senior year.

“During my senior year, I’m sure I was the only high school quarterback in the state of Mississippi who wore a collarbone protection pad,” Owen said.

After his playing days came to an end, Owen began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Blue Devils in 2005. While there, he coached the varsity and junior varsity teams. After a year on the job, he accepted an assistant position with New Hope High School, located in Columbus, Miss. He worked with the Trojans five years before he accepted an assistant coach position with Poplarville High School.

“Jay (Beech) has been a really nice person to me and he’s an excellent football coach and an amazing person,” Owen said. “I have been able to learn a lot from him and the biggest thing that I take away from my time at Poplarville are the friendships that I built with the coaches, players, administration and the community.”

In his new position, Owen hopes to bring success to a football program that has won five out of 22 games last two years.

“My goal is to improve every day,” Owen said. “As long as the kids in the program do what they’re supposed to and come to practice every day with a great attitude, we will start seeing the results on the field. I promise you that the kids will work and play hard every day and we will put a performance on the field that the community will be proud of.”