Gators’ Moore makes All-State team

Published 9:05 am Thursday, December 8, 2016

Raheam Moore emerged as a consistent threat, powered Vicksburg High’s high-octane passing game and shattered records during the 2016 football season.

It did not go unnoticed by the state’s coaches.

Moore, a 6-foot-4 senior wide receiver, was picked to the Class 5A All-State team in voting by Mississippi’s high school coaches. He was the only Gator picked for the team, which included 63 of the top players in Class 5A.

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Moore, who spent most of the 2015 season as a secondary threat in Vicksburg’s offense, came into his own in 2016. He caught 77 passes for 1,135 yards and 20 touchdowns. He ranked eighth among all receivers in Mississippi in receptions and was tied for fourth in touchdowns. He was second in Class 5A in touchdown receptions, one behind Class 5A Player of the Year Jordan Murphy of Hattiesburg.

Murphy had 78 receptions for 1,695 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Moore tied the Warren County single-season record for career receptions, and set the record for touchdowns. His yardage total is the third highest — and one of only seven 1,000-yard seasons — in county history.

Moore only played two seasons of varsity football, but it was his monster 2016 season put him in some elite historical company. He finished his high school career with 104 receptions for 1,516 yards and 25 touchdowns. Those totals rank third, fifth and third, respectively, on Warren County’s career list.
Moore is one of only four Warren County players to catch at least 100 passes in their high school career.

Moore caught at least one touchdown pass in 11 of Vicksburg’s 13 games this season, and had more than one touchdown reception seven times. He also had five 100-yard games and 10 games with five receptions or more. He caught at least one pass in every game this season, and in 24 of the 25 games he played in 2015 and 2016.

Also on the Class 5A All-State team, Grenada linebacker C.J. Avery was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year and West Point’s Chris Chambless was the Coach of the Year.

Avery had 61 total tackles, two interceptions and one fumble recovery. He also played quarterback, where he threw 10 touchdown passes and ran for 438 yards and five touchdowns.

Chambless led West Point to a 14-1 record and the Class 5A championship. The Green Wave won its last 13 games in a row after losing to Starkville on Aug. 26 and outscored its opponents 151-22 in four playoff games.

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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