Most Friday nights during football season, Brandon Davis is in the pressbox at Viking Stadium providing the soundtrack to the game.

This weekend, he’s doing it with a different team.

For the fourth year in a row Davis will be part of Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s radio crew for the Mississippi High School Activities Association’s championship games.

He’ll do a mix of sideline reporting and color commentary for four of the seven games being played at Ole Miss’ Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford.

“We’ve got some of the best broadcasters in the state that come together to do this,” Davis said. “I’ve been very fortunate to be involved in a lot of this because of the interaction with Warren Central and what we do here. I haven’t done play-by-play, but I’ve done color and mostly sideline.”

Davis has been Warren Central’s public address announcer for nine seasons, and is often part of the radio team on Vicksburg’s 105.5 FM for road games. Those gigs helped him land the one calling the MHSAA championship games, he said.

“When Jared Shotts was our radio guy here, we traveled together and I had a chance to do some radio with him. He saw that I halfway knew what I was doing and I fell in by luck,” Davis said. “It’s a good time. It’s very rewarding to know that of all the people that’s around the state that’s doing this, I’m a part of it. It’s a blessing.”

Shotts formerly did play-by-play on Warren Central’s broadcasts. He now does the same for Germantown High School and owns his own media company, Shotts Media. He’ll be part of the all-star broadcasting crew rotating spots on the MHSAA championship games this weekend.

The others include Atlanta Braves play-by-play announcer Ben Ingram; ESPN 105.9 radio host and Brandon High School play-by-play man Jake Wimberly; Jackson Academy announcer and Raider Network producer Bryan Eubank; Tri-County Academy radio announcers Josh West and Cliff Barker; Boswell Media’s Breck Riley; and Prebysterian Christian School announcer Caleb Hamill.

Ingram is a Madison native who did play-by-play for the Braves’ Double-A affiliate in Pearl before getting his current job with the major league team.

“I absolutely love getting to come back home to be a part of these broadcasts,” Ingram said in a news release. “Mississippi loves its high school football and providing this coverage across the entire state is a great way to wrap up the season.”

All seven championship games will air on ESPN 105.9 The Zone (WRKS) in the Jackson area, and on all Mississippi Public Broadcasting radio stations. In Central Mississippi, the MPB signal can be heard on 91.3 FM.

The radio broadcasts will include postgame shows each day, and pregame shows at 3 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.

The games will be televised on MeTV in the Jackson area.

Davis will be the radio sideline reporter for the Class 5A game between West Point (10-3) and Laurel (8-6) Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; the Class 2A game Friday at 4 p.m. featuring Charleston (12-2) and Heidelberg (11-3); and the Class 7A game with Starkville (10-3) vs. Oak Grove (12-1) Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

He will be the color analyst for the Class 3A championship game between Winona (14-0) and Noxubee County (10-4) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Besides being excited to be a part of a great production team, Davis said he’s happy to represent Warren Central on a statewide stage.

“It’s good for the program, too. You talk to a lot of people and see a lot of people up there because you’re in the press box, so it’s good to be an ambassador for Warren Central,” he said. “I’m always going to promote our kids, promote our coaching staff wherever I’m at, and this is another platform to do that.”

Davis wasn’t sure whether or not this will be his sign-off as the Voice of the Vikings. His son, Beau, is a senior this year and concluded his football career at Warren Central after starting for two years on the offensive line.

Brandon Davis said he silenced his public address microphone late in the Vikings’ last game, a 24-7 playoff loss to Grenada on Nov. 17, to enjoy his son’s final snaps.

“Beau was in elementary school when I started this and now to see him graduate … the other night, the last two minutes I didn’t do much announcing because I just wanted to watch him play. That was really surreal,” Davis said. “But just to be a part of the program is really an honor.”

Davis sees his role as the PA announcer as more than just giving out names, numbers and concession stand specials for the crowd. He’s tried to be involved as a mentor to players and provide other support to the program, such as organizing fundraisers.

“I just like being involved with the kids. Some of the kids I’ve mentored, you get a message from them, ‘Hey, I’m expecting a child,’ or, ‘I’m graduating,’ and it’s rewarding,” Davis said. “You’ve helped that kid along the way. Football’s kind of the secondary part. Working with the kids is really the primary thing I enjoy.”

After a generation of telling Vikings fans to “RIIIISSSEE UP!” on third downs, or calling out names after big plays, the announcer said he’s enjoyed it all.

“There’s a lot more talented people around here that could probably do a better job than me, but that they stuck with me says a lot,” he said. “I appreciate that.”

MHSAA championship games
At Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford
Nov. 30
Class 1A – Velma Jackson (13-0) vs. Biggersville (11-1), 4 p.m.
Class 5A – West Point (10-3) vs. Laurel (8-6), 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 1
Class 2A – Charleston (12-2) vs. Heidelberg (11-3), 4 p.m.
Class 6A – Grenada (11-3) vs. West Jones (13-0), 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 2
Class 4A – Louisville (14-0) vs. Columbia (14-0), Noon
Class 3A – Winona (14-0) vs. Noxubee County (10-4), 3:30 p.m.
Class 7A – Starkville (10-3) vs. Oak Grove (12-1), 7 p.m.

• All games will be televised on MeTV Jackson, and broadcast on radio on 91.3 FM and 105.9 FM