Madison Central wins state soccer title over NW Rankin

Madison Central boys soccer knocked off Northwest Rankin in the MHSAA 7A soccer championship game in an absolute thriller that went eight rounds of penalty kicks. 

In regulation, the Jaguars jumped on top with a long goal from junior Landon Dale to take a 1-0 lead. 

It looked like Madison Central was going to hold onto that lead, but Northwest Rankin complicated things with a goal with three minutes left in regulation that seemingly shifted momentum in their favor. 

After ending regulation and extra time tied at 1-1, the Jaguars needed to dig deep in penalty kicks if they wanted to come away with a state championship.

Madison Central did just that, as in the eighth round of penalty kicks, junior Carson Pentecost slotted the ball into the back of the net to give the Jaguars the state title.

This state championship is the sixth overall for the Madison Central boys soccer program and the first since 2021.

The Madison Central program is led by one of the state’s best head coaches in Cecil Hinds, who has now won ten state titles as the head coach of both the boys and girls soccer programs at Madison Central.

Overall, it was a phenomenal season for Madison Central, who finished with a 16-3-1 overall record, to go along with a region and state title. Their only losses on the season came against 7A opponents Oxford, Tupelo, and Ocean Springs. 

In the MHSAA 7A state tournament, Madison Central defeated Southaven 2-0 in the first round, Starkville 3-0 in the quarterfinals, Tupelo 4-0 in the semifinals, and finally Northwest Rankin 1-1 through penalty shootout in the state championship game. 

The Jaguars also finished 7-1 in region play to win the regular season region title, which was three games better than the teams tied for second place.

Junior Tanner Nichols finished the season as the leading goalscorer for Madison Central with 13 goals, while senior Braden Buchanan led the team with nine assists to go along with 12 goals on the season. 

Madison Central will have plenty of talent and contributors coming back next season and will be contenders for back-to-back championships in the 2025-2026 season.