STARKVILLE — Starkville High School junior defensive lineman Lorenzo Dantzler gathered his teammates and delivered a simple message.
“One turnover,” Dantzler said. “I thought one turnover, one stop, one big play. I felt like that would turn this whole thing around.”
Sophomore Abdural Lee heard the message and took it to heart.
Lee forced two fumbles and Dantzler recovered one of them. In all, top-ranked Starkville forced three third-quarter turnovers and rallied past Warren Central 27-17 in a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 2 matchup Friday night at Yellow Jacket Stadium.
“Tonight took a lot of faith,” Abdural said. “That was the most upsetting first half we have had all year. We knew we would eventually face some adversity. We found a bunch of it in this game.”
Starkville (10-0, 6-0 region) hadn’t trailed this season. It opened region play with four-straight shutouts before allowing a first-half touchdown last week in a victory against Murrah.
After back-to-back shutouts against Columbus and Northwest Rankin, Dantzler joked the team’s goal was to shut out the region.
That’s why a 9-0 Warren Central halftime lead was the last thing anyone in a yellow jersey expected.
“We didn’t go into panic mode,” Starkville junior Terrance Grayer said. “We just had to get into a rhythm. We had to make some plays to help our offense get rolling. We knew it was a fight. Even though we hadn’t been down before, we knew we had been hit in the mouth and it was time to respond.”
Warren Central (8-2, 4-2) had the wind and the momentum as it drove to start the third quarter.
The Vikings started on the Yellow Jackets’ 37-yard line after a 14-yard punt. On the fourth play, Lee knocked the ball loose from Marcus Ragan. Dantzler made the recovery and appeared headed to the end zone — if he could regain his footing. He couldn’t.
“Major disappointment because I was taking that one to the house,” Dantzler said. “My feet failed me. I just couldn’t get it all together.”
Warren Central got the ball back and built the 17-0 lead.
After Starkville finally put together its best offensive drive, the defense got down right stingy. Lee and Jacorey Douglas teamed to force a fumble that Lee recovered on the Warren Central 6.
The Yellow Jackets failed to score on the takeaway. However, Starkville had reached its breaking point on defense.
“This was a big-time game,” Dantzler said. “Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games. Even though we were down, I told the team, ‘Man we have this.’ We knew we could come back as long as there was time on the clock.”
Even though Lee’s takeaway didn’t lead to points, it helped change the momentum.
After another short punt, Brady Davis hit Raphael Leonard for a 33-yard touchdown and the deficit was suddenly manageable at 17-14.
Grayer followed with an interception and a 20-yard return. Two plays later, Warren Central was dazed and Starkville was ahead.
For Lee, the ability to help his team win on Senior Night was special.
“It feels really good to be out here since I am the only sophomore playing,” Lee said. “I feel good God gave me this opportunity. The win was really big because it will keep us motivated. It will keep us working hard. We have to keep going hard to win a championship.”
While the biggest championship won’t be decided for another month, the Yellow Jackets can nail down a small championship Friday night.
Starkville will play Friday at Clinton (9-1, 6-0) for the region championship. The Region 2 champion will have a chance to host the North State championship game if seeds hold.
“We learned tonight when we face adversity what we can do about it,” Dantzler said. “I don’t think this game could have ended any better. We are ready for Clinton.”
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.