The murderer”s row scheduling for the Starkville and West Point high school football teams won”t let up anytime soon.
If possible, the Starkville-West Point rivalry will ratchet up the strength of schedule for both squads when they meet at 7:30 p.m. Friday in West Point.
Starkville (2-1) is coming off a 10-7 victory against Tupelo. The win helped build on momentum from a 16-14 win against Class 6A power Madison Central and erase the disappointment from a 33-21 loss to Class 4A power Noxubee County in the season opener.
“I feel like if we had been able to keep our quarterback on the field we had a great chance to be 3-0,” Starkville coach Jamie Mitchell said. “We ran into hydration problems (against Noxubee County), and every chance we get we are increasing our hydration with the kids.”
Quarterback Gabe Myles was one of a handful of players to suffer from cramps against Noxubee County, and his absence played a part in the Yellow Jackets” only loss to date. Even though temperatures have cooled this week, Mitchell said his team will continue to try every method — tonic water with Powerade, bananas, dill pickles, pickle juice, mustard packs — to prevent the issue from happening again.
Mitchell said the hard-fought nature of the last two games has helped get his team going in the right direction.
“We”re driven by one thing and one thing only and that”s to win another state championship,” said Mitchell, who is in his second season at the school. “I think that is what people expect at Starkville. They have won four in school history, and this town deserves great football here.”
Mitchell is trying to bring that back to Starkville by stressing hard-hitting, swarming defense. He said his players continue to mature and to understand the mentality he needs them to have if the Yellow Jackets are going to regain their place as one of the state”s premier programs.
“In every rebuilding process that is by far the hardest thing to get the kids to understand, the level of commitment it takes and the level of work it takes,” Mitchell said. “We are not going to make any excuses. We want to find ourselves in Jackson playing for another state championship. That is why I am here.”
Mitchell said the defense has helped set the tone. He said that unit shook off a “terrible” effort against Noxubee County and delivered “great” performances against Madison Central and Tupelo. He said a stout defense is a cure-all for everything because you”re always in a game if you don”t allow any points.
Mitchell said his defense”s speed has been a key to allowing only 21 points in the past two games. He said West Point will put that athleticism to the test with a strong running game and a versatile quarterback, senior DeQuinten Spraggins.
“They have learned to play with a little bit of an attitude,” Mitchell said of his defense. “You see a lot of black shirts getting to the ball and that feeds the frenzy. It is about work ethic, and it gets infectious, too. They want to be in the picture when the tackle is made.”
That defense will be at less than 100 percent Friday. Mitchell said linebacker David Fair is out of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He said Fair is expected to have surgery on his knee next week.
Mitchell also said linebacker J.B. Barriare is out with a broken ankle and offensive lineman Ryan Minor is out with a broken hand.
“We”re not very deep at that position, so we”re trying to move some guys around,” Mitchell said of his team”s depth at linebacker.
West Point (0-2) will try to avoid its first 0-3 start to the season since 2000, when the Dennis Allen-coached team went 3-8. That team lost to Starkville 30-0 in the third game of the season.
One year later, West Point was back in the playoffs. Two years later, the Green Wave won 12 games and were a victory from winning a state title. Five years later, West Point beat Wayne County to win the Class 4A state championship.
This season, the two-time defending Class 5A state champions have lost to two-time defending Class 6A state champion South Panola (37-17) and to Class 6A Columbus (35-27 in overtime).
The Green Wave also have added motivation. A year ago, Starkville rallied in the second half for a 21-20 victory. The loss was the only blemish on West Point”s march to its seventh state title.
West Point coach Chris Chambless said his team needs to do a better job capitalizing on the opportunities it gets to avoid dropping to 0-3.
“We have made a lot of progress,” Chambless said. “Every time we practice we try to get better. It is more mental with us. You”re never going to be perfect blocking and tackling, but we have to do a better job with our recognition and understanding situations and recognizing formations and what people can do out of those formations.”
Chambless said his team”s inexperience makes that learning process tougher. He said the Green Wave haven”t had this many young players in key roles in a number of years. He said the Green Wave are going to stick to their plan because he is confident in his players and he believes in their potential.
” I have a good feeling about this team,” Chambless said. “Unfortunately we”re 0-2, but, at the same time, we have competed against two very tough football teams.
“The most important thing is the end. We just played our second ballgame, so it is definitely not the end.”
Like Mitchell, Chambless knows his team will face a battle Friday night. He praised Mitchell for building the Yellow Jackets” self-confidence and anticipates a physical game against an opponent that will try to get all over his team. He said his players need to be prepared mentally and focused for the matchup.
“We have a good football team,” Chambless said. “If you have seen us play, you know we”re playing hard and getting after it. We just have to play a little smarter.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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