Coach Archie Carlyle is a legendary championship basketball coach who led his teams to state championships at Benton, Yazoo City, and Yazoo County. A native of Dermott, Arkansas, he is a graduate of Chicot County High in Dermott and Tougaloo College. He started his 45 year coaching career at Linwood Elementary where he coached the middle school hoops teams to a record of 203 wins and 48 losses in six seasons. As a head coach, he paced the benton girls basketball squads to gthree state titles in 1982, 1984, and 1987, and guided the Benton boys to a state crown in 1985. From 1987-1991 he coached the Northwest Rankin boys and led his team to a state runner-up finish in 1990. At Yazoo City, he coached the boys to a 1996 state championship, and the girls team to a state championship in 2009. He guided Yazoo County to a state title in 2006 in the famous "stall-ball" game against Holly Springs, a contest that is considered one of the biggest upsets in the state tournament. Along with his 7 state championships, Coach Carlyle coached his teams to 20-plus sin seasons 23 times and 30-plus win seasons on 5 occasions. His teams claimed 1,204 wins, 800 losses, and 1 tie. He was named coach of the year four times by the Yazoo Herald, two times by the Jackson Clarion Ledger, five ties by the MAC, and three times by the MHSAA. He received three Mississippi/Alabama All-Star coaching honors in 1985, 1989, and 2001. He reached his 1,000th career coaching victory in 2006.