BRANDON — The Starkville High School football team turned in another defensive masterpiece Friday night.
Top-ranked Starkville posted its second shutout in Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 2 play, and made it eight-straight perfect quarters in a 42-0 rout of Northwest Rankin at Cougar Field.
For Starkville (6-0, 2-0 region), quarterback Brady Davis was 19 of 22 for 290 yards and three touchdowns. Davis found Raphael Leonard, A.J. Brown, and Chris Rogers on scoring passes. After sitting out last week’s victory against Columbus, senior running back Jacquez Horsley returned to the lineup with 13 rushes for 114 yards and a touchdown. Matt Fuller and Brady Davis also rushed for touchdowns.
“When Jacquez is out there we are a totally different team,” Starkville coach Jamie Mitchell said. “We have a different running threat when him in the backfield. We are pretty good without him, but so much better with him.”
On defense, Starkville allowed 151 yards and nine first downs. Terrance Grayer celebrated his first start of the season by intercepting pass. The theft was a game-changer and helped the Yellow Jackets build a 25-0 halftime lead.
“Every week, the goal is a shutout,” Grayer said. “We take everything personally. We don’t want to give up first downs. We don’t want to give up big plays. We really come out here with the mind-set to dominate.”
Starkville’s defense has allowed one touchdown in the last four games.
n Caledonia 28, Houston 27: At Caledonia, Brandon Henry scored on a 40-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to help the Confederates rally for their Class 4A, Region 4 victory.
Henry (42 carries, 264 yards) also had touchdowns of 5 and 10 yards for Caledonia (4-3, 1-0 region).
Brandon Townsend (13 carries, 113 yards) had touchdowns of 18, 1, and 9 yards for the Hilltoppers (3-4, 0-1).
n Oak Hill Academy 34, Manchester Academy 12: At West Point, Running back Drew Riley rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns, while his twin brother, Drake, rushed for 113 yards and another score to help the Raiders earn a pivotal Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AA, District 2 victory.
The win helped Oak Hill Academy improve to 4-3 and 2-1 in the region. It holds the tiebreaker against Manchester Academy and Winston Academy.
Drew Riley, a junior, scored on touchdowns of 1, 4, and 6 yards, while Drake, a senior added a 1-yard scoring run.
Oak Hill Academy rushed for 334 yards and forced two turnovers on interceptions by Drew Riley and Trevor Turner. Riley Pierce, Oak Hill’s senior quarterback, tacked on a 1-yard touchdown run as Oak Hill Academy outscored Manchester Academy 27-6 after the first quarter.
n West Lowndes 54, West Oktibbeha 0: At Columbus, the Panthers put on a dominating performance Friday night en route to their Class 1A, Region 3 victory.
West Lowndes (3-4, 2-2 region) earned its first shutout of the season in taking consecutive victories for the first time this season.
Quarterback Daniel Davis was 10 of 14 for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Jevontrae Williams rushed for 123 yards on seven carries with four touchdowns.
For more on these games and the rest of the local Mississippi and West Alabama teams, see Sunday’s edition of The Dispatch, or check back Sunday morning at www.cdispatch.com.
n Clinton 41, Columbus 17: At Clinton, Kylin Hill scored two touchdowns Friday night, but it wasn’t enough as the Falcons slipped to 1-5 and 0-2 in Class 6A, Region 2.
Cam Akers rushed for two touchdowns and threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to help the Arrows improve to 5-1 and 2-0.
n Madison-Ridgeland Academy 17, Starkville Academy 10: At Madison, the Volunteers fell from the ranks of the unbeaten Friday night in their loss to Division I MRA.
Sam Cox kicked a 37-yard field goal and Colt Chrestman had a 64-yard touchdown run for Starkville Academy (6-1, 3-1), which entered the week as the No. 1 team in The Associated Press MAIS poll.
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