STARKVILLE — The state’s top-ranked team made it look easy Friday night.
Brady Davis threw two touchdown passes, and Jacquez Horsley ran for another score to lead the Starkville High School football team to a 30-0 victory against Tupelo in the first round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A North State playoffs.
Starkville (12-0) will play host to Southaven, which defeated Warren Central 17-7, next week in the second round.
The Yellow Jackets posted their fifth shutout of the season by limiting the Golden Wave (8-4) to one first down in the first half en route to a 24-0 halftime lead.
Davis threw touchdown passes of 18 and 19 yards to A.J. Brown. Horsley scored on a 12-yard run. Michael Godley kicked field goals of 42 and 47 yards and Michael Sullivan addd a 25-yard field goal.
n Starkville Academy 42, Lamar School 0: At Starkville, the Volunteers advanced to the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Division II championship game with a dominating performance.
Starkville Academy rushed for 345 yards and held Lamar School to 112 yards. Drake Gordman broke loose for a 71-yard touchdown run on the Volunteers’ first play to set the tone. Gordman had a team-high 98 rushing yards, while Drew Harrell ran for 90 and Noah Heflin had 75.
Starkville Academy will face Oak Forest (La.) Academy next week for the state championship. Oak Forest defeated Magnolia Heights 13-0 on Friday night.
n New Hope 35, Callaway 12: At Columbus, Brenton Spann scored three touchdowns to spark the Trojans in the opening round of the MHSAA Class 5A North State playoffs Friday.
All of Spann’s scores came in the first half and helped New Hope (10-2) build a 28-0 halftime lead. Spann cleared 100 yards rushing and had three catches for 72 yards.
Trojans linebacker Gavin Salter added a 54-yard interception for a score late in the fourth quarter.
New Hope will travel to Pearl, which beat Clarksdale 55-14, in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs. New Hope continues its first postseason run since 2010.
For more on these games and the reports from West Point, Noxubee County, and Aberdeen, see Sunday’s edition of The Dispatch or go to www.cdispatch Sunday morning to catch up on all the results.
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 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.