by, SunHarald

Stone County High has found its new man to lead the football program. Poplarville defensive coordinator Jacob Aycock has been announced by Stone as its newest head football coach, replacing John Feaster who left for the same job at Moss Point. Aycock was approved by the school board on Thursday. “We’re excited, he came from a good football program,” Stone athletic director Adam Stone told the Sun Herald. “(Poplarville) has had a pretty good run over the last few years so we’re excited to have him. He’s high energy. His defensive numbers have been proven. We got glowing recommendations from everybody about him.” TOP VIDEOS Top Stories 00:12 00:18 Mizzou locks up SEC Tournament double-bye with win overOle Miss: Recap and takeaways Aycock is a recipient of the Luther Kuykendall Assistant Coach of the Year award for his work with the Hornets defense. Poplarville allowed just 11.1 points per game last season and 10.9 in 2021 when Aycock was honored with the award for top assistant in South Mississippi. “The community is behind the (Stone) football program and it’s evident when you go to their home football games,” Aycock said. “It matters. So it was an easy transition coming from Poplarville where football is a big deal. “We’re going to put some goals out there and one of those is to make the playoffs. We want to put a product on the field that their parents can be proud of. We want to be competitive no matter who the opponent is.” In three years as the DC for the Hornets, his teams never allowed more than 12 points per game and recorded six shutouts. Stone is coming off its most successful season in over 30 years. The Tomcats are moving up from 4A to 5A after the latest round of MHSAA reclassification.