Brewer headed into another hall

Published 8:58 am Thursday, September 1, 2016

When Sean Brewer is inducted as part of the inaugural class of the Vicksburg Warren School District Athletic Hall of Fame on Thursday, it might be the last time he gets to experience the rush of becoming a hall of famer.

He’s already a part of almost every other hall of fame he can join.

In the past year, the former Warren Central football star has been inducted to the National College Football and Mississippi Sports halls of fame. He had previously been enshrined in the Millsaps College and Warren Central athletic halls of fame.

Sean Brewer

Sean Brewer

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“This has got to be about it,” Brewer said with a laugh. “It’s a blessing. Any time anybody looks at your past accomplishments and recognizes them, it’s an honor and a blessing.”

Brewer will join two other former Warren Central football players, Carl Blue and Tony Smith, in the first VWSD Hall of Fame class. Vicksburg High greats Cynthia Hall (basketball) and Barry Hassell (tennis) will also be inducted.

The ceremony is at 6 p.m. Thursday at Roca Restaurant and Bar. Tickets are $20.

The school district hall of fame might not have the same prestige as a national or state hall of fame, but Brewer said in some ways it’s even more special.

“This is representing home, where everything started,” he said. “All that time on the Viking practice field and the junior high practice field, this is what it led to. It takes you back home.”

Brewer was a star defensive lineman on Warren Central’s 1988 Class 5A championship football team. He then went to Millsaps and embarked on a remarkable career that made him the school’s first member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Brewer was a three-time Division III All-American — the only defensive lineman to have that distinction — and a two-time Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference player of the year. He still holds school records for solo tackles (332) and sacks (52).

Today, the award that is given each year to the best defensive lineman in Division III is named after him.

Brewer is now a principal at Rosa Scott High School in Madison. He said he felt honored to be part of a new tradition in his hometown.

“There’s so many great players in so many sports. Those other guys and lady are special,” said Brewer, who played alongside Smith and is good friends with Hassell. “I’m sure it’s going to be something special for years to come.”

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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