As a student at Jackson Academy, Doyle Bryan got to take part in the first Mississippi private school All-Star football game in 1990.

Then called the Mississippi Private School Association, Bryan remembers the camaraderie he felt with the other players, most of whom were from different schools than the one he attended. There were also a few Division I prospects on that team, Bryan recalled.

“We really had a great time,” Bryan said. “It was just an unbelievable week of meeting new people and getting to know people outside of your own team and school. It’s a memory I’ll never forget.”

Thirty years later, Bryan’s son, Lamar senior Ben Bryan, played in what is now known as the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools’ All-Star football game Friday, making a father-son bond come full circle in regard to their respective prep football careers. Ben Bryan said he experienced a lot of the same things his dad did during the week leading up to the game.

“He said it was one of the best things he’s done football-wise in his life,” Ben Bryan said. “Just meeting all the guys and hanging out all throughout the week is awesome. Practices are awesome because everyone is really good. It’s just impressive to see.”

Ben Bryan made the All-Star game alongside fellow Raiders Hayden Farrar and Miller Hodge, and he called the selection a great honor. For his father, it was an “extremely proud dad moment.”

“It’s hard to put into words,” Doyle Bryan said. “He’s been a starter for three straight years and played on state championship teams and never missed a game. He loves the game just like I did. I’m just so proud of him.”

Ben Bryan’s earliest football memory with his father was as Ole Miss fans attending an Egg Bowl together when he estimates he was only 4 at the time.

“Ole Miss beat State, and for us to both be cheering them on was pretty special,” Ben Bryan said. “When I started pee wee ball he coached my team, and it was pretty cool for my dad to do that.”

Doyle Bryan’s first football memory with his son came a bit earlier in Ben Bryan’s life.

“I think he was 2 or 3,” Doyle Bryan said. “We dressed up and went to play out in the yard. He’d be in his Ole Miss jersey and helmet throwing the ball. He could barely run and walk, but I remember it like it was yesterday, and now here we are with the last high school game of his career.”

Another favorite football memory of Ben Bryan’s was in a car ride home from a game during his sophomore year when the younger Bryan was named a full-time starter at Lamar.

“It was my first high school start, and I think I had 10 or 11 tackles and two tackles for loss or something,” Ben Bryan said. “I played pretty well for a sophomore, and we rode back together, and it was just a great talk. Me and him were talking about all of the hard work paying off and finally getting to do what we discussed for so long. It was awesome.”

Doyle Bryan remembers that car ride and how that game showcased his son’s football instincts.

“One of the cool things about Benjamin is he has a knack to read where the ball is going to be,” Doyle Bryan said. “That’s what led him to be able to be selected by his coaches and other coaches throughout the league for this All-Star game.”

The game was bittersweet for Ben Bryan, as even though he plans to play football in college, it’s the closing of a chapter in his life where he formed numerous bonds with his Lamar teammates on the football field.

“When you’re out there with 10 other guys, it’s great when everyone is doing their job and executing to their full potential,” Ben Bryan explained. “When you lay your body on the line for one goal and 10 other guys do the same, it creates a special bond. That’s why I enjoy it so much.”

The reality of it being his son’s last high school football game has begun to sink in for Doyle Bryan as well.

“There are a lot of emotions for sure,” Doyle Bryan said. “I’m just so proud of how he represented Lamar School and his family. It’s an honor to be his dad, I can tell you that.”

While this is later down the road in his life, Ben Bryan said he’s open to sharing football with his son one day if he ever has one.

“I hope to, but I’m not going to pressure him in any way, because my dad didn’t,” Ben Bryan said.