Coach Buck Kennedy was a championship football coach at Picayune, Noxapater, and Leakesville. Buck hails from Montgomery County and graduated from Indianola High where he was a 2-year All Delta Valley Conference and All American football star who served as team captain. He is a 1961 graduate of Mississippi State where he was Honorable Mention All-SEC his sophomore season. He is a 20 plus year coaching veteran from 1964 to 1991 including 14 years at Noxapater and 3 years at East Rankin Academy. Coach Kennedy guided his football teams in 199 games with a record of 138-58-3. He coached Noxapater to 2 straight Big Black Conference championships (1971-72) and 3 consecutive East Central Athletic Conference titles (1979-81). Buck was selected as conference Coach of the Year on 4 occasions and served as assistant coach in the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Classic in 1971 and was named the first All-Star head coach from a Class B-BB school to the game in 1973. He is a longtime member of the MAC, the National Federation of Coaches, and the MHSAA and served in the MS National Guard from 1955-64.