Class of 2017

Larry Ingle has built a lifetime of achievement and development in the martial arts and has taken his reputation and knowledge of the sports to the movie screen. 
Ingle, 60, is a native of Painesville, Ohio, before moving to Forest with his family in 1967. Ingle attended Forest High School where he participated in football and became involved in martial arts in 1972. He graduated from Forest in 1974. He became a technician at NuWay Cleaners in Forest where he still works today.
Ingle started in the Shotokan style which emphasizes striking techniques and after he graduated from school, he fought in numerous tournaments from 1974 until 1979 when he earned my black belt.
About 10 years after high school, Ingle earned an associate degree in telecommunications and electrical engineering at Phillips Jr. College.
After a tournament in 1979, Ingle began cross-training in multiple styles. Throughout his martial arts career, Ingle has earned black belt rankings in Judo, fourth degree; Jujitsu, eighth degree; Hapkido, ninth degree; Shotokan, seventh degree; and he is a certified instructor in Muay Thai.
He won his first mixed martial arts fight at age 50. Ingle retired from kickboxing in 1987 with a record of 18-6-1.
Ingle has served as a martial arts teacher since 1978, worked in training other fighters and was awarded a position with the Mississippi State Athletic Commission. Ingle has also won numerous awards and received honors through his service in a variety of organizations and associations.
He has served as a trainer, corner man, referee and judge for kickboxing, boxing, tough man boxing and mixed martial arts amateur and professional fights. Many of the fights he has worked have been featured on Showtime, HBO, Fox Sports, ESPN, ESPN2, Comcast Sports South and other networks.
In the past year, Ingle added “actor” to his list of accomplishments. He appeared as the referee in the final fight scene of the movie “The Fight Within” which was released in August 2016.
Ingle and his wife, Karen, have been married since 1984. They have a son, Kerry, and daughter, Krystal Perry. 

Gary Risher played football at Forest High School, East Central Community College and Mississippi College. His coaching career began at Peebles Junior High School in Jackson in 1965 and ended in 2013 at East Central Community College.
Between Peebles and East Central, his career included coaching stints at Hickory High School, Forest High School, Sebastopol High School, Northwest Rankin High School, Morton High School, Byram High School, Newton County Academy, St. Joseph Catholic School in Madison and East Rankin Academy.
At Forest, Risher compiled a record of 78-26-1 as head coach. Risher credits this success with divine intervention, good players and good assistant coaches. His Forest record includes Overall Little Dixie Championships, Coach of the Year, Hamasa Shrine Bowl, two North Little Dixie Championships.
At Morton, Risher compiled a record of 13-16-1 over three seasons as head coach.
At Newton County Academy, Risher compiled 21-11 record as head coach. Also at Newton County Academy, Risher was named Coach of the Year among private schools in the state and coached in the Mississippi Private School All-Star game. After leaving the school, he returned to Newton County Academy later in his career as head coach and finished one season with a 5-5 record.
Overall as head coach, Risher compiled a 123-62-2 record during his career.
His professional career has also included serving as principal at Magee High School and state supervisor of driver’s education and safety.

Risher passed away on September 15, 2022 

Tony Hughes, a Forest native, has served as the 19th head football coach at Jackson State University since December 14, 2015. 
Hughes came to Jackson State from Mississippi State University, where he spent seven years as a key member of the Bulldogs’ football program. While at Mississippi State, he had oversight for the safeties, the defensive backfield and coordinated the Bulldogs’ recruitment efforts. In 2013, Hughes was named assistant head coach.
Prior to MSU, Hughes made a stop for one season at Southern Mississippi University where he coached the secondary. Hughes coached for three seasons at the University of Mississippi. Hughes is the first African-American coach to serve as an assistant at all three major university football programs in Mississippi.
Hughes is known as one of the top recruiters in the nation. He was named one of America’s top 10 recruiters in 2015 and one of the top 25 college football recruiters in 2006 by recruiting services. 
Hughes’ resume also includes Louisiana Technical University and Hinds Community College. Before Hinds, Hughes’ full time coaching position on a collegiate level was at the University of West Alabama and he coached in the Mississippi high school ranks at Hattiesburg High School and South Natchez High School. His first high school coaching job was at Philadelphia High School.
Hughes served in the United States Marine Corps and received an honorable discharge. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Southern Mississippi. 
Hughes is a graduate of Forest High School where he played football and ran track and played defensive back at St. Paul’s College. He was a defensive back for Southern Miss where he earned his Bachelor of Arts’ degree in sociology.
He is an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, serving as a member of the Mississippi FCA State Board of Directors, president of the Mississippi FCA Coaches Council and vice-president of the council.
Hughes is married to the former Marion McCaleb of Meridian and the couple has two sons, Jamison and Jay. 

Perry Qualls was born on February 24, 1964, and died in November 2016.
Qualls was a graduate of Forest High School and attended Alcorn State University where he played in the historic game between Alcorn and Mississippi Valley State University in 1984. The game, played in Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, had the highest recorded attendance for any game in the stadium history.
Qualls scored five touchdowns, including the go-ahead one with 1:51 to play, in Alcorn State’s 42-28 victory over Mississippi Valley State in a showdown of Southwestern Athletic Conference unbeaten teams.
Qualls scored on runs of 1, 9, 5 and 3 yards, and caught a 10-yard scoring pass from Richard Myles, as Alcorn State raised its record to 7-0, including 4-0 in the conference.
A crowd of 63,808 saw the game, which was originally scheduled for Saturday in Mississippi Valley’s 10,000-seat stadium at Itta Bena. The date and site were changed because of spectator interest.
Qualls, a 5-foot-9-inch, 191-pound junior, finished with 211 yards in 37 carries in that game. 

Marvin Morgan was born on January 27, 1929, and died on June 10, 1997. He was a native of Forest. He graduated from Scott County Training School in 1948. Morgan served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict and received an honorable discharge in 1952.
He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Alcorn State University in 1957 with a major in social studies with honors. He earned a Master’s degree in education administration from the University of Southern Mississippi.
He began teaching at Sherman Hill High School in Lake in 1957. After consolidation of local schools, Morgan continued at East Scott School as a teacher, assistant principal, girls’ basketball coach and assistant football coach and later became principal.
Morgan moved to Lake where he served as a teacher, assistant principal and assistant football coach. He became the elementary school principal where he remained until he retired in 1983 due to health reasons.
Morgan was an important part of the success of the Lake Hornets football team from 1973-1979 as he served as an assistant coach to Granville “Bear” Freeman. During this time, the Hornets earned a record of 56-3-1 and named champions of the Cherokee Conference for five consecutive years. He helped the 1974 Hornets achieve an undefeated, unscored upon and untied season which no other Mississippi high school team has ever done.
Morgan, whose name adorns the Lake Middle School campus, was considered one of the biggest motivators in school history of the Lake community. A trophy was introduced in 1990 in his name which is presented annually to a Lake football player.
Using teaching, coaching, preaching, singing, writing and dancing talents, Morgan motivated the players and the school through dancing at pep rallies to the tune of “Proud Mary” and writing football roundups for The Scott County Times and poems for the teams he coached such as the “Magnificent 22” and the “Refined 29.” He also created the “V-I-C-T-O-R-Y” chant for the football team which is still used today.
Morgan was a member of Lynch Chapel United Methodist Church where he served as a Sunday school superintendent, Sunday school teacher, member of the choir, and on every committee the church sponsored. He was also a frequent speaker at area churches during Black History Month.
He is survived by his wife, Viola, and a son, Vincent, both who live in Forest. 

John M. Rogers Sr., was born in Morton on June 13, 1929, and died on July 4, 2013.
Rogers graduated from Morton High School in 1947 where he played at the quarterback position for the Panthers football team.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and marketing from Mississippi College in 1951 where he played quarterback on the Choctaws football team and played on the tennis team. He remained a member of the M Club throughout his life. Rogers then attended Tulane University’s Graduate School of Business.
Rogers returned to Morton to join his father, B.C. Rogers Sr., in the management of the family owned poultry operations and earned numerous honors in the poultry industry and business in general.
Rogers also played tennis which he started at the age of 12. He continued playing the sport through school and into adulthood until his health problems prevented participation.
He earned 36 state tennis rankings, 14 of them being singles rankings and 22 doubles rankings. He earned five Southern Tennis rankings. In 1974, he and his partner were ranked 5th in the South in the men’s open doubles competing against all ages. In 1989, he and his partner were ranked number one in the South in 60s doubles and in the same year, Rogers was ranked 8th in the nation.
In 1957, Rogers and Fred Gaddis of Forest organized and sponsored the “Battle for the Golden Chicken” featuring a chicken trophy passed between Forest and Morton football teams each year.
Rogers served a 10-year term as director on the board of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a member of the Southern Trust Foundation, and a trustee of the Southern Tennis Patron’s Foundation. In 2000, Rogers was named to the Mississippi Tennis Hall of Fame and in 2004, he was named to the Mississippi College Sports Hall of Fame.
Through his business career, Rogers became involved in the ownership of several car dealerships in Mississippi and Louisiana including the Chevrolet dealership in Brandon, known as Rogers-Dabbs Chevrolet. He was also a partner in several Sunflower grocery stores for many years.
Rogers is survived by his wife, Beth, and five children, 15 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.  

Carl Harris was born on November 29, 1936, and died on June 7, 2012. He attended Pelahatchie High School, Hinds Jr. College, Mississippi College, and Jackson State University.
Harris’ basketball career started early when he was an eighth grader on the team at Pineville School which finished undefeated.
Harris moved to Pelahatchie in the 10th grade and played there for three years. He moved on to Hinds Jr. College where he averaged 14.7 points per game. He continued at Mississippi College where he lettered in basketball for two years.
In 1960, Harris started his coaching career with girls’ and boys’ basketball at Sand Hill High School in Greene County. He was chosen as Coach of the Year in the Singing River Conference.
Harris came to Morton High School where he coached from 1965-1973. His record at Morton was 201-65. While at Morton, Harris led two teams to win South Mississippi tournaments with one losing in the state final. In 1966, Harris was named Little Dixie Conference Coach of the Year. In 1970, he coached the South All-Star team.
Harris earned a Master’s degree in education from Jackson State University while coaching at Morton.
During his 13 years of coaching, Harris’ teams produced 54 tournament championships. Winning 70 percent of his games, Harris’ overall coaching record was 312-95.
Harris served on the board of directors for the Mississippi Association of Coaches and initiated a basketball panel to improve the game in Mississippi. For two years, he coordinated the Central Mississippi Basketball Camp for boys and for five years, he participated in summer basketball camps at Delta State University and Hinds Jr. College. In 1972, the Mississippi Association of Coaches named him to coordinate a program for coaches on basketball drills and fundamentals.
In 1973, Harris became manager of Roosevelt State Park where he was honored as Park Manager of the Year and earned recognition for the state park earning the most revenue.
He served as president of the Morton Chamber of Commerce in 1978-1979 and was a member and deacon at First Baptist Church in Morton.
Harris was inducted in the Sports Hall of Fame at Hinds Jr. College in 2009.
Harris was married to the former Alice Winstead and they have three children, Carl Harris Jr., Lori Harris Porter, and Chris Harris; and four grandchildren.  

Reggie Robertson was born on March 2, 1938, in Crosby in Amite County. He played football and baseball at Crosby High School from 1952-1956. He then attended the University of Mississippi where he played football for Ole Miss from 1956-1961.
Robertson played at the defensive back position for Coach Johnny Vaught and was a member of the 1959 national championship team and the Team of the Decade while at Ole Miss. He also played in the 1960 and 1961 Sugar Bowls.
Robertson entered the coaching ranks at Meadville High School where he served two years as head coach. He then moved to Vicksburg as an assistant football coach and head baseball coach.
Robertson came to Morton in the summer of 1966 as head football coach. After starting with a losing season in 1966, Robertson rebounded with an 8-1-1 in 1967 and never had another losing season.
Robertson retired in 1972 and became a high school principal. Three seasons later, he returned as a head coach along with duties as a principal and coached until the end of 1978.
In 1976, Robertson won the North Little Dixie Championship and lost to Warren Central in the overall game.
Of the 10 years that he coached, Robertson’s record for seven of those years was 46-22-2.
Robertson moved to the county central office in 1986 where he worked as assistant superintendent until his retirement in 1999 after 33 years in the Scott County School District. 

For 24 years Mickey Bounds roamed the sidelines of Scott Central High School’s football sidelines leading the Rebels to success. With one state title and numerous other championships on his head coaching record, Bounds’ career ended in February 2016. Overall, Bounds completed 33 years of coaching.
Bounds is a native of Houston where he graduated from high school in 1974. He attended Itawamba Junior College where he played football. After school, Bounds went to work in the Sunflower grocery business with his dad for five years before resuming his education.  Bounds returned to college and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education and history at Mississippi State University in 1983.
His first stop in the coaching and teaching ranks was at Louisville High School where he was part of three state football championships and two state championships in cross country and was named Cross Country Coach of the Year. Bounds moved to Magee as an assistant before learning about an opening at Scott Central. Bounds sought and won the position to become the Rebels’ head coach in 1992 and never looked back.
Under Bounds, the Rebels made three trips to the state championship game in Jackson, winning one of those games in 1999. Those trips came off three South State Championships.
The Rebels have nine district championships under Bounds, the most recent being won in 2010. The Rebels reached the playoffs 20 times under Bounds who guided the Rebels to their second of two undefeated seasons in school history. The Rebels recorded 15 winning seasons under Bounds and three break even seasons. Records reflect that Bounds finished with 179 wins for a 63 percent winning percentage.
Bounds was named as an assistant coach to the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star game and as an assistant coach in the Mississippi All-Star game.
In addition to coaching football, Bounds has also coached the golf team and served as the driver’s education instructor.
Bounds has been married to his wife, Debra, since 1976. The Bounds have raised three children including two daughters, Jenny and Stephanie, and a son, Shawn, all who were active in athletics or cheerleading among other activities.
The Scott County Times contributed to this biography.