STARKVILLE — Naturally, this had to fall to the Starkville High School football team’s defense.
The Yellow Jackets ended their regular season and started their playoff run with tight wins that called on the defense to secure victories.
In the team’s second playoff win against Horn Lake, the defense had to keep Starkville in the game in the first half before the offense came to life late.
On Friday night, it was only right that Starkville’s defense was on the field to send the program to another state title game.
A forced fumble by Jalen Ware proved to be the final play Starkville needed to seal a 27-24 victory against Madison Central in the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A North State title game.
Starkville (13-2) will make the program’s 11th state championship game appearance at 7 p.m. Friday when it takes on Pearl for the Class 6A State title. Pearl (15-0) beat Hattiesburg 52-12 on Friday.
Starkville will compete for its seventh state championship after it recovers from another test of cardiac fortitude.
If all went according to plan, the defense wouldn’t have had to clinch it.
Leading 27-24, Starkville regained possession with 68 seconds remaining. The Yellow Jackets’ plans of getting one first down to put the game out of reach ended in two plays with a fumble on a toss sweep that Madison Central (11-3) recovered 44 yards away from a game-winning touchdown.
Once again, Starkville’s defense had little notice to defend a short field with the game on the line.
“It helped with our kids,” Starkville defensive coordinator Kevie Thompson said of the previous tests the defense had to face. “Getting those stops made them never waver in their faith. I trusted the system. I trusted the kids to do what I asked them to do.”
Said defensive end Jalil Clemons, “We wanted a turnover. They were already in field goal range, and we didn’t want no overtime. Everything we do, we’re going for the ball.”
Starkville, which defeated Madison Central 14-6 on Oct. 13 in Starkville, ultimately got that turnover, but only after it had a few others taken away. Starkville intercepted two passes only to have one erased by pass interference and the other taken away by a roughing the passer penalty.
Starkville had 17 penalties for 147 yards. Madison Central had 11 for 86 yards.
“We don’t get the best calls, man. It’s crazy. It’s obvious now,” Starkville coach Chris Jones said. “It’s cool if you want to cheat me, but don’t cheat the kids. They work too hard. They do everything we ask them to do, so give them a chance. Let the outcome be determined by the players, not the referees.
“I have a good group of kids. They never complained about the officiating, even though I did. They always said, ‘Coach, we got you.’ ”
The Yellow Jackets lived up to their word on more than just the final possession. After a field goal by Garin Boniol gave the Yellow Jackets a seven-point lead, sophomore safety Corbin Grantham forced a fumble. Boniol ended the ensuing possession with another field goal to give Starkville a 10-point cushion it needed for the crucial stop.
“It is the best stop of my career,” Thompson said. “We stressed all week we needed to get three turnovers. We got zero in the first half. We came out and got three.”
The stop followed another pivotal moment. For the first time this season, Jones brought the team together on the sideline between the third and fourth quarters. Usually that’s a time for Yellow Jackets to stand on top of benches or to walk the sideline to prepare for the12 minutes.
This time, the players huddled around Jones for a message.
“Finish,” Jones said. “This is why we worked so hard over the summer. This is why we show up on Sundays as a unit. This type of atmosphere and this moment, this is about finishing — doing what you have to do to win this game.
“We live for this moment. I have a group of kids that love to play ball. They don’t care what the score is. They just want to play ball.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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