Earl "Mutt" Watts - Wildcat basketball (1951-52)
Watts, a native of Columbia, played his high school ball at Improve High School, where he made the all-state team for two years while his dad, John Watts, was the coach. He signed with Ole Miss, but quit the team.
Former University of Southern Mississippi Coach Lee Floyd wanted him to play at USM, but he had to sit out, so Floyd sent the 6-foot-5 Watts to Pearl River, where he starred as the center. "We were as good as anybody in our league," said Watts. "We had Bull Parish, Glynn Kerley, Sam Clinton. We worked hard. We had good team work. Going to school there was one of the best things I did. I thoroughly enjoyed it."
Watts went on to play three years for Floyd at USM. He is retired today after some 38 years in education, starting with two years in Purvis. He spent the rest of the time in Florida, including 10 years as a coach in Chipley and 22 years as a principal in Lake City, before retiring with his wife, Barbara, of 51 years, to Hattiesburg.
He spends the bulk of his time caring for his daylillies. He has some 1,800 to 2,000 varieties and more than 10,000 seedlings.
NAME: Earl "Mutt" Watts
HOMETOWN: Columbia
FAMILY: Wife, Barbara (51 years); one daughter, Nan Erle Wilson of Hattiesburg; one grandchild.
EDUCATION: Graduated Improve High School, 1951; Attended Pearl River Junior College, 1952; graduated from University of Southern Mississippi, 1955.
OCCUPATION: Retired from education, 38 ½ years.
Adam Breerwood - Wildcat baseball (1994-95)
Breerwood, currently Dean of Student Services at PRCC, was an all-state and All-Region 23 player for two seasons for the Wildcats from 1993-95. His .416 batting average his sophomore season is tied for the highest average in school history. He was also named the most valuable player in the 1994 Region 23 Tournament.
He was a first baseman and outfielder for coach Jim Nightengale. Besides his high batting average as a sophomore, he also hit 12 home runs, 18 doubles and had 51 runs-batted-in. He played his high school ball at St. Stanislaus High in Bay St. Louis, where he was the Gulf Coast batting champion his senior year.
"This is a tremendous honor for me to be recognized as a member of the Hall of Fame," said Breerwood. "I am well aware of the tradition of this institution and all of the outstanding athletes that have wore a PRCC uniform. I know the sense of pride in wearing those letters across my chest. I thoroughly enjoyed my two years here playing for Jim Nightengale and I still carry many of those life lessons with me everyday."
Breerwood continued his career at William Carey College, where he earned All-Gulf South Conference and All-Southwest Region honors as a junior and senior.
He coached the first men’s and women’s soccer teams at PRCC, winning the men’s state title in 2003 and four South Division championships.
NAME: Adam Breerwood
HOMETOWN: New Orleans, La.
FAMILY: Wife, Shana (8 years); one son, Derek Blaise, 4; one daughter, Lexey, 5.
EDUCATION: Graduated from St. Stanislaus High School, 1992; graduated Pearl River Community College, 1995; graduated from William Carey College, B.,S.,1997; WCC, Masters, 1999; graduated from University of Southern Mississippi, PhD, 2003.
OCCUPATION: Currently Dean of Student Services, PRCC.
Paul Oliver Highstreet - Wildcat football (1955-58)
Highstreet, 70, came to Pearl River in the fall of 1955 from Redemptorist High in New Orleans as a senior and played three years as an offensive and defensive tackle, weighing 220 pounds, for Coach Holden.
"I really loved it at Pearl River," said Highstreet. "Coach Holden was one of the finest people I ever met. He treated me like a son. I left New Orleans in 1955 on a Greyhound Bus. The bus let me off at the Movie Star plant and I walked across the street to the junior college."
He explains why he came to Pearl River for his senior year. "In New Orleans, when you reached 19 years-old in high school, you couldn’t play. I played in the high school all-star game as a junior. Coach Holden went to the game and he chose me to come to Pearl River."
He made the all-state team for two years and participated in the All-American game in Jackson his sophomore year.
While at Pearl River, Highstreet also made a name for himself as a Golden Glove boxer. "A bunch of us were sitting around the gym, bored to death," he said. "We decided to put a boxing team together, six of us. We went to Hattiesburg to compete and three of us won, including myself. We went to the state championships."
Highstreet fought in the heavyweight class and won. However, Holden did not let him go to Memphis for the regionals because Pearl River was beginning spring training.
Highstreet signed with the University of Miami and married Janice Lott, a PRCC student from Bassfield. "She got pregnant and homesick, so we moved back." USM came calling and Highstreet wound up playing two seasons there.
He then spent 36 ½ years in the oil business before retiring in Hattiesburg.
"This honor brings tears to me eyes," said Highstreet. "I really am proud. You know, both of my sons played ball at PRCC. This is one of the greatest honors I have ever received."
NAME: Paul Oliver Highstreet
HOMETOWN: New Orleans, La.
FAMILY: Wife, Barbara (6 years); two sons, Paul Russ Highstreet of Bassfield, Kyle Highstreet of Pensacola, Fla.; one daughter, Jana Weeks of Brandon.
EDUCATION: Attended Redemptorist High in New Orleans; Graduated from Poplarville High School, 1956; graduated Pearl River Junior College, 1958; graduated from University of Southern Mississippi, 1961.
OCCUPATION: Retired from oil field business.
B.A. "Bama" Falls - Wildcat football (1951-53)
B.A. "Bama" Falls earned the nickname Bama because he was the only player on Pearl River’s team from 1951-53 from the state of Alabama. Stephenson, Ala., was his hometown.
Falls, an all-state defensive guard for the Wildcats, passed away May 1 of this year. Nine days later, his wife, JoAnne, also died.
"Pearl River was the high point of his life after his childhood," said Bruce Falls, one of Bama’s three sons. "He was an aggressive person on and off the field."
According to Bruce Falls, Bama lost his right eye when he was 10 years-old in a school-yard accident involving a bow and arrow. "Daddy fought off a lot of personal problems growing up due to losing that eye," said Bruce. "Coach Holden was a major turning point in his life. If anybody ever had influence on his life, it was him. He always talked about him. He kept every football program from his playing days at Pearl River."
NAME: B.A. "Bama" Falls
HOMETOWN: Stephenson, Ala.
FAMILY: Wife, JoAnne (46 years), deceased; three sons, Bruce Falls, Bryan Falls and Barry Falls, all of Chattanooga, Tenn.
EDUCATION: Graduated from Pearl River AHS, 1952; attended Pearl River Junior College, 1953; attended Florence (Ala.) State College.
OCCUPATION: Retired from construction business.