Starkville survived a scare two Fridays ago against Louisville, a thrilling 21-20 victory that helped improve the Yellow Jackets to 4-0 on the season heading into last Friday’s game against Madison Central.
Facing the reigning state champions, Starkville suffered its first loss of the season, a 41-21 gut punch on the road before this Friday’s game — another road contest against Clinton.
“I think it was a humbling loss, but I liked the energy we came back with when we practiced,” Starkville head coach Chris Jones said. “We’re just trying to be consistent and put good days on top of good days, just getting better each and every day.”
The tough road continues for the Yellow Jackets (4-1), who face a Clinton team that gave them fits when the two teams played last in 2021.
Though Starkville was able to win, 28-21, at home last season, Clinton is looking for revenge in 2022 and another win added to its resume as the Arrows sit at 2-2 so far.
District play brings out an extra level of competition, which is perfect for the Yellow Jackets to continue to stay prepared as the season wears on.
Corinth (2-3) at Caledonia (1-4), 7 p.m. Thursday
It’s been a tale of two seasons over the past two years for Caledonia. A team that last year at this time had a 4-1 record, has struggled so far in 2022, holding a 1-4 mark.
The Cavaliers are coming off a tough home loss against Aberdeen last Friday, one that they were in until the final whistle, but the focus now is on Corinth and getting that second win of the season.
“Our biggest focus is just trying to get better,” Caledonia head coach Michael Kelly said. “We need to get better at the fundamentals, detail of the things we’ve done. I thought our kids have had a great week of practice. They have great character, great fight in them. We just have to finish games and finish drives.”
The offense for Caledonia has arguably been its biggest weakness so far, averaging just 14 points per game overall and 7.5 points per game in its four losses.
Corinth is a team that has been slightly better at more consistently scoring this season, averaging nearly 16 points per game and 24.5 points per game in wins, so great performances on both sides of the ball will be massive for a Caledonia victory in a Thursday night contest.
Wayne Academy (2-2) at Heritage Academy (5-1)
Heritage Academy had its statement win of the season two Fridays ago against Starkville Academy, fending off a second-half attack for a 31-21 victory.
The Patriots backed that up last Friday with an impressive 56-17 blowout victory over Bayou Academy to improve to 5-1, and the Pats are staying hungry headed into homecoming week and a Friday tilt at home against Wayne Academy.
“It was a good conference win last week,” Heritage Academy head coach Lance Pogue said. “We’re just continuing to stay hungry and working. Continue to believe that we can continue to improve and keep that hunger.”
That always improving mentality has worked incredibly well for the Pats so far, having averaged 36.7 points per game this season and an incredible 42.6 points per game in wins.
Aside from that Jackson Prep game, Heritage Academy has really looked unstoppable and has executed on both sides of the ball nearly flawlessly so far.
With how things are going, this year’s homecoming game has a great chance of seeing Heritage improve to 6-1 by the game’s end.
Starkville Academy (4-3) at Magnolia Heights (5-1)
After a 4-1 start to the season, Starkville Academy has dropped its last two games, including a tough 13-7 loss at Winston Academy last Friday.
The Volunteers, now 4-3 on the season, are looking to rebound this Friday but have a tough opponent in front of them in the form of Magnolia Heights, which currently sits at 5-1.
“We can’t be worried about the past. We can’t be worried about the future,” Starkville Academy head coach Chase Nicholson said. “It’s an easy mindset for us to just focus on the week at hand because it’s who we are. It’s what we focus on.”
Starkville Academy has been hard at work looking to erase a two-game losing streak but is most focused on going 1-0 this week.
Overall, the Vols have had Mag Heights’ number. The Volunteers currently have a nine-game winning streak against the Chiefs, dating back to 2014.
Starkville Academy looks to get back on the winning track and extend that winning streak to 10 on Friday.
Leake County (0-4) at West Lowndes (3-2)
West Lowndes has fallen to 1-1 in district play after a 29-0 loss at Sebastopol last Friday, the first time this season that the Panthers have been held scoreless.
It was a rough go of things but definitely a good teaching point moving forward as West Lowndes continues district play this Friday against winless Leake County.
“Practice has been going well,” West Lowndes head coach Anthony King said. “We know that we have to get our chemistry back because the last two weeks have been very physical weeks. We’re expecting another physical game this week.”
In recent memory, games against Leake County have been closely contested aside from last season’s 35-8 win for the Panthers.
The previous two games were decided by just six points, so physicality is going to be the key to see which team comes out on top.
King talked about West Lowndes being a bit banged up going into Friday’s game, but with this week of practice having gone well so far, the Panthers are looking to start a new winning streak against the Gators this week.
Hatley (2-3) at Noxubee County (2-3)
After a hot 2-0 start, Noxubee County fell below the .500 mark for the first time this season last Friday, losing 21-8 at Louisville.
The last three weeks for the Tigers (2-3) have easily been the toughest three weeks of the season, but as Noxubee County returns home this week to play Hatley in its district opener, spirits remain high.
“This is our first district game and at this point in the season, we can’t have letdowns, we can’t take anybody lightly,” Noxubee County head coach Teddy Young said. “… We need to work on finishing drives.”
Capitalizing on offensive possessions has been Achilles’ heel for Noxubee County during this three-game losing streak and it’s reflected in the Tigers’ scoring offense.
Over the past three games, Noxubee County has scored just 16.3 points per game, but Friday presents a great chance to bounce back.
The Tigers have out-scored Hatley, 160-21 in their three all-time meetings, winning last season, 52-0. An offensive boost to start district play would help immensely with just four games remaining on the schedule.
Greenville (0-4) at Columbus (1-4)
Columbus finally got in the win column Friday, ending a four-game losing streak to begin the season and starting district play with a win.
For a young team that has been struggling to score this season, a big night defensively and a key touchdown late was exactly what the doctor ordered heading into this Friday’s game against Greenville.
“This week, our focus is on getting better at eliminating the small stuff,” Columbus head coach Joshua Pulphus said. “We have a lot of young kids playing, so just trying to get them more game reps, but also, getting them comfortable in understanding assignments and understanding the speed of the game.”
In what already was a massive boost in last Friday’s win against New Hope, the Falcons head into this Friday’s game playing a winless Greenville team that they’ve beaten five straight times.
Over that five-game stretch, Columbus has scored 33.2 points per game as an offense, so if that’s any indication for Friday, expect an offensive awakening from the Falcons.
Other games
7 p.m.: North Delta School at Oak Hill Academy
7 p.m.: Columbus Christian Academy at Humphreys Academy
7 p.m.: DeSoto School (Ark.) at Hebron Christian
7 p.m.: Jackson Academy (Ala.) at Pickens Academy (Ala.)
7 p.m.: Victory Christian Academy at Tuscaloosa Christian (Ala.)
7:30 p.m.: Game of the week: West Point at New Hope
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