A missed week of football practice hasn’t slowed Trey Prentiss much.

Last Friday night in Hazlehurst, Prentiss returned an interception for a touchdown in the first half and then caught a 39-yard TD pass in the second to lead Vicksburg High to a 17-6 win.

More games like that will make Prentiss a bonafide football recruit. He is already a big prospect in baseball following a junior season in which he helped the Gators reach the Class 4A championship series.

In fact, baseball was the reason Prentiss took the first week of August off. He was one of 150 players in the eastern half of the United States invited to the East Coast Pro Showcase at the Detroit Tigers’ spring training facility in Lakeland, Fla.

“It was a fantastic experience and I only had to miss two days of school and a couple of football practices,” Prentiss said. “There was a lot of talent down there.”

The players were divided by region into six teams and each team played the others in a five-game round robin. Prentiss played on the Padres team which consisted of top prospects from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the panhandle of Florida.

Before play began, players were rated by the scouts on the SPARQ scale, which is comprised of a vertical jump, shuttle run, 30-yard dash and power throw. Prentiss garnered a 5.772 to rate as an above average prospect. He ranked seventh on his team.

Prentiss said he felt the scouts liked his skills.

“They like how I did in the outfield. I was fast and had a good bat,” he said.

It was his bat that proved big for the Gators last spring. The All-County pick finished with a .395 batting average, six home runs, 40 RBIs, and 38 runs scored. The 40 RBIs ranked third in the county and his 45 hits were second.

And he had some crucial hits as well. His three-run home run in the fifth inning against Tishomingo County was the key blow in the decisive third game of the North State 4A series.

Prentiss, though, said his love of football is equal with baseball.

“Fifty-fifty,” he said.

His 60-yard interception return for a score on Friday was highlight reel stuff. Prentiss made a leaping grab, then ran 30 yards untouched before having to stop and shake off two pursuers.

“Their quarterback had a good angle on me, and I had to cut quickly. He then ran into his running back, who was coming up behind him,” Prentiss said.

The pick six was the second of Prentiss’ career. He had one against Yazoo County last year.

VHS coach Alonzo Stevens said his staff moved Prentiss from cornerback to safety to better use his big-play ability.

“Trey is a leader and we felt that teaming up with (Harold) Pickett would give us two good safeties back there. They work well off each other, with one coming up to play the run and the other staying back,” Stevens said.

“Sometimes. I’ll stay back and Pickett will go down in the box or I will go,” said Prentiss, who had a handful of tackles as Hazlehurst was trying to establish the run.

In the second half, Prentiss hurt the Indians as a receiver. He caught a 12-yard pass for a first down. He then went deep, grabbing a 39-yard TD pass from Les Lemons that put the Gators up 17-6.

“I laid out for it. We felt like we could go over the top of their defense,” Prentiss said. He finished with three receptions for 52 yards.