As the wins begin to mount, so does the pressure for top-ranked Starkville High School.
Starkville is looking for perfection, something rare in the world of sports. The Yellow Jackets (6-0) appear on a cruise control for a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 2 championship.
With each week, Starkville appears to play even better. At 7 tonight at yellow Jacket Stadium, Starkville will look for its third-straight shutout when it plays host to Greenville in another region game.
“We take a lot of pride in getting shutouts,” Starkville senior defensive lineman Derion Ford said. “When we are able to get a big stop and keep the other team out of the end zone, it really gets everybody on the sidelines fired up.”
Starkville (2-0 region) has opened region play with back-to-back shutouts of Columbus (43-0) and Northwest Rankin (42-0). Columbus and Northwest Rankin combined for 276 yards and 22 first downs. Neither opponent ran a play in Starkville’s red zone.
“It is really a credit to the whole unit,” Starkville coach Jamie Mitchell said. “Even when the reserves are in there late in a game, they are busting their tails to make plays. It really is a situation where everybody is fired up and making plays.”
Starkville has scored 34 or more points in all six games. The offense struggled against Columbus and Northwest Rankin but eventually put everything together.
“We have made a lot of progress,” Starkville senior quarterback Brady Davis said. “We are playing with a lot of confidence, but everybody is staying level headed. We really don’t feel the pressure. We know what our goal is and we are working hard to get there.”
Davis has thrown for 1,704 yards with 24 touchdowns (three interceptions). Senior Raphael Leonard has a team-high nine touchdowns on 28 receptions for 675 yards. Junior A.J. Brown has eight touchdowns on 28 receptions for 558 yards.
Starkville received a huge lift last week with the return of senior running back Jacquez Horsley. Horsley missed the Columbus game with a hamstring pull. He rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown against Northwest Rankin.
“Getting (Horsley) back was really big,” Mitchell said. “We are really blessed with some depth at the tailback position. We get a really big game from Avery (Brown) against Columbus. That is the type of experience that will help him down the road. We are a different running threat, though, with (Horsley) back, so that was really big positive.”
Greenville (1-5, 0-2 region) has lost five-straight games since a season-opening victory against Gentry. Its region losses are a 38-0 setback to Murrah and a 54-7 decision against Warren Central.
“There is a lot of football left to be played,” Mitchell said. “You have to play the region games at a different level. Hopefully, we can continue to do that.”
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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