Woods returns as SP coach

By Myra Bean and Jeff Eubanks
Ricky Woods is “former” coach no more.
Thursday, Woods agreed to return to South Panola as head football, pending South Panola board approval.
“It has been on my mind all the time,” Woods said in a Thursday morning telephone interview.
Word spread late Wednesday into early Thursday morning hours on Twitter that Woods had decided not to take the Eupora High School football position after tendering his resignation at Starkville High following the conclusion of the season.
Speculation was running rampant as to what Woods had planned. His mother is getting older and needs checking on and it was doubtful he would take a position this far away from her.
However, Woods said he talked it over with her and she was on board with him coming back to Batesville and South Panola.
“It feels like coming home,” Woods said. “I am thankful for the opportunity to do this and am fortunate they want me.”
Woods expects to be at South Panola around January 9.
He led South Panola to four straight state championships from 2003-2006. South Panola played in the 2002 state championship game but lost to Wayne County.
In that time, South Panola built a 60-game win streak. The win streak continued under Lance Pogue (who announced his resignation prior to the season) until 2008 when it was snapped at 89 against Meridian in the 2008 state championship.
South Panola public information director Jeff Eubanks released a statement from the district.
Pending school board approval, a familiar face will once again roam the sidelines during football season at Dunlap Stadium.
The South Panola School District Board of Trustees will meet on Friday (Dec. 2)to vote on Woods’ hiring, along with a variety of other items.
Woods previously coached the Tigers from 2002-06 where he amassed a 74-1 record, four state championships and established the South Panola High School football program as a national powerhouse, which included winning 60 games in row.
“Coach Woods is a proven winner on and off the football field,” South Panola School District Superintendent Tim Wilder said. “We are glad to have someone that has the familiarity with the South Panola High School football program like Coach Woods, on top of being a great coach with a successful track record.”
Woods, who has won a total of eight state championships at four different schools, last hoisted the golden ball in 2015 when Starkville defeated Petal 27-7 in the Class 6A Championship.
After leaving SPHS, Woods spent a year at Bainbridge High (Georgia) before becoming the head coach at Northwest Community College from 2008-12. He led the Rangers to two MACJC North Division titles, the program’s first bowl game in 20 seasons and two Top-10 finishes in the nation.
Woods won state titles at Ackerman in 1997 and 2001, and at Peabody (Tennessee) in 2014.