TUPELO — The Starkville High School football team is starting to win when the games matter the most.
After an 0-4 start in non-region games, Starkville improved to 2-0 in Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 1 on Friday by beating the Tupelo Golden Wave 14-7.
Starkville”s defense put the first points on the scoreboard when Craig Armstead returned a fumble 50 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.
The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 14-0 in the third quarter when Justin Rogers caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Jaquez Johnson.
Starkville was unable to post a shutout when Tupelo (1-5, 1-1 region) scored in the fourth quarter.
Starkville plays at home at 7 p.m. Friday against Horn Lake.
n East Oktibbeha 58, Thomastown 0: At Crawford, the Titans scored their most points in a game in three years in their Class A, Region 3 victory.
It was East Oktibbeha”s highest scoring game since beating Falkner 60-6 on Oct. 6, 2006.
East Oktibbeha (3-3, 2-2 region) got off to a good start with three touchdowns in the first quarter. Trent Jefferson scored on a 30-yard run, Bracey Johnson returned a bad snap on a punt 3 yards for a touchdown, and Chris Hunter scored on a 5-yard quarterback keeper.
In the second quarter, the Titans scored three touchdowns to up their lead to 42-0 at halftime. Hunter threw a 44-yard pass to Marlon Fair and an 11-yard pass to L.J. Jeffrey, and Fair scored on a 3-yard run.
East Oktibbeha struck for a defensive touchdown in the third quarter when Arthur Gillespie returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown.
The Titans wrapped up the scoring in the fourth quarter when James Finley scored on an 11-yard run.
Lex Edwards was the leading rusher for East Oktibbeha with 93 yards on eight carries.
Freddie Williams led East Oktibbeha with six tackles and two sacks, and Darico Dancer and DeAndre Garth had six tackles each.
East Oktibbeha plays Friday at Edinburg.
n Weir 33, West Oktibbeha 0: At Maben, the Timberwolves were shut out for the second time this season in their Class A, Region 3 loss.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for West Oktibbeha (3-3, 3-1 region).
West Oktibbeha will attempt to get back on the winning side Friday when it plays at Ethel.
n Washington School 43, Starkville Academy 14: At Greenville, the Volunteers remained winless with a loss to Washington School.
After being shut out in the first half, Starkville Academy (0-7) scored in the third quarter on a 55-yard run by Jake Read and in the fourth quarter on a 4-yard run by Ben Thebaud.
Starkville Academy will play host to Madison-Ridgeland Academy on Friday.
–Central Academy 36, Calhoun Academy 6: At Calhoun City, Trevor Eaves rushed for 306 yards and three touchdowns and led the defense with nine tackles to help the Vikings improve to 4-1.
Eaves scored on runs of 22 and 30 yards in the first quarter and on a 56-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Also for Central Academy, Ferris McGuire scored on a 5-yard run in the first quarter and threw a touchdown pass to Cole Newman in the second quarter.
McGuire also ran for two two-point conversions and passed for another.
Eaves was followed in rushing by Will Disbrow with 63 yards on seven carries and McGuire with 40 yards on seven attempts.
McGuire completed 2 of 2 passes for 32 yards.
Cody Brown added seven tackles and Disbrow and Newman each had six.
Central Academy will play Friday at Delta Academy.
–Noxubee County 38, Kosciusko 0: At Kosciusko, the Tigers registered their fifth shutout of the season and their second in a row in their Class 4A, Region 4 victory.
It was the highest-scoring game of the season for Noxubee County (6-1, 1-0 region).
Noxubee County will play host to Amory on Friday.
n Eupora 28, East Webster 0: At Eupora, the Wolverines were shut out for the first time in 64 games in their Class 2A, Region 3 opener.
The last time the Wolverines were shut out was a 35-0 loss at Durant on Oct. 1, 2004.
East Webster (4-3, 0-1 region) will attempt to get back on the winning track Friday when it plays host to Ackerman.
n Central Holmes Christian 14, Hebron Christian 8: At Pheba, the Eagles avoided a shutout when Yance Falkner threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Blake Harrell.
J.D. Edwards scored a two-point conversion for Hebron Christian (1-5).
Central Holmes scored twice in the first six minutes of the game and held on.
Hebron Christian will play at home again Friday when it takes on Carroll Academy.
–Lamar School 63, Oak Hill Academy 7: At Meridian, the Raiders gave up their most points in a game in 10 years and had their two-game winning streak snapped.
It was the most points allowed by Oak Hill Academy (2-5) since a 69-34 loss to Lamar School on Oct. 1, 1999.
Oak Hill Academy will play host to Manchester Academy on Friday.
–Winston Academy 26, Manchester Academy 17: At Yazoo City, the Patriots scored 14 unanswered points in the first quarter and held on to improve to 3-3.
Winston Academy established the lead in the opening quarter when Sam Dempsey returned a fumble 28 yards for a touchdown and Stephen Arnett scored on a 2-yard run.
The Patriots didn”t score again until the fourth quarter when Cameron Paschal caught a 55-yard pass from Tyler Sullivan and Rob Moffitt scored on a 33-yard run.
Winston Academy will return to action Oct. 16 when it will play host to the Lamar School.
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