No. 1 Starkville will take on No. 2 South Panola

STARKVILLE — Basketball coaches frequently talk about contrasting styles and the need to impose their style on an opponent.

The same theme can apply in a lesser degree to football, and it will be a major factor at 7 tonight when No. 1 Starkville (13-0) plays host to No. 2 South Panola (13-0) in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A North State championship game at Yellow Jacket Stadium. The winner will face Oak Grove or Brandon next Friday for the Class 6A state championship at Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State campus in Starkville.

Starkville, South Panola eager to renew rivalry

STARKVILLE — While Starkville High School kept accumulating football wins, it knew sooner or later what was bound to happen.

Walters Column: Noxubee County, Starkville on similar championship paths

Back in the long steamy nights of August, a promising football season started for both Starkville High School and Noxubee County High School.

Ole Miss will try to dash Mississippi State’s hopes

With hopes of a conference championship now gone, the Ole Miss football team has turned its thoughts to a final regular-season goal: defeating its archrival.

No. 18 Ole Miss will play No. 4 Mississippi State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (WCBI) in the Battle for the Golden Egg in Oxford. The Rebels will be televised nationally by CBS for the third time this season, and the second-straight week.

Starkville defense swarms all over Southaven

STARKVILLE — Starkville High School football player Tyler Rogers was asked to sum up his night Friday night.

Mattox will run cross country at North Alabama

STARKVILLE — Walker Mattox has always set big goals.

The ability to set them and always to achieve more opened the door Thursday afternoon for the Starkville High School senior to sign a cross country scholarship with the University of North Alabama.

First win helped propel Oak Forest (La.) to title game

JACKSON — The Oak Forest Academy (La.) football team’s dream season started on opening night.

“We beat a team we lost to opening night the year before,” Oak Forest senior linebacker Collin Kent said. “For the seniors, we knew that meant the season was going to be different. We had worked so hard during the offseason. We saw that hard work pay off and everybody was excited.”

Starkville will look for another strong defensive effort

STARKVILLE — Starkville High School football coach Jamie Mitchell was happy to see the return of the Yellow Jackets defense last week.

Thanks to a smash-mouth defense that left other teams helpless in its path, Starkville became the state’s top-ranked team earlier this season. In the final two weeks of the regular season, though, Starkville had to overcome defensive deficiencies to beat Warren Central and Clinton to win the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 2 crown.

Terrill leads Starkville Academy back to state title game

Jeff Terrill is having a good time.

After some minor health issues last season, Terrill is back in the full swing of things. He will lead Starkville Academy in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Division II state championship game Saturday against Oak Forest (La.) Academy.

Oak Hill Academy sweeps Heritage Academy

WEST POINT — With 16 football players working to transition to another season, the Oak Hill Academy boys basketball team has been looking for an offensive flow.

The flow came in the nick of time Tuesday night.

Goals still within reach for Ole Miss

With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the No. 8 Ole Miss football team still has a lot of preseason goals within reach.

If Ole Miss wins its final two games and Auburn beats Alabama, it will clinch a share of the Southeastern Conference Western Division and advance to the Southeastern Conference championship game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for the first time.

Starkville Academy gearing up for shot at title

JACKSON — Starkville Academy’s appearance in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Division II state championship game has been three years in the making.

Ware, veterans lead MSU in opener

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State fans have been waiting patiently for a day when the school’s men’s basketball team had depth again.

While the Bulldogs played nine players and several newcomers, a trio of veterans led the way in a 66-56 win against Western Carolina in the season opener Friday night.

It was MSU’s 400th win all-time at Humphrey Coliseum.

Vivians, newcomers lead MSU past Mercer

STARKVILLE — Victoria Vivians feels like she and her freshman teammates on the Mississippi State women’s basketball team are well ahead of the curve.

Aberdeen sweeps New Hope in basketball

The Aberdeen High School boys basketball team has a new coach and a new philosophy for the 2014-15 season.

However, the goals remain the same for the tradition-rich program.

Starkville battle-tested for playoffs

The Starkville High School football team won games in a variety of ways to cap an undefeated regular season.

The top-ranked Yellow Jackets won low-scoring defensive struggles and high-scoring shootouts.

Starkville coach Jamie Mitchell thinks his team’s ability to win different style games will help it at 7 tonight when it plays host to Tupelo (8-3) in the opening round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A North State playoffs at Yellow Jacket Stadium.

EMCC bowl matchup with Iowa Western set

After weeks of speculation, the dream matchup became official Tuesday afternoon.

Columbus basketball teams sweep West Lowndes

Columbus High School boys basketball coach Sammy Smith has assembled a team with lots of size and length.

EMCC moves back to No. 1 in NJCAA rankings

East Mississippi Community College completed its football regular season where it started — ranked No. 1 in the nation.

EMCC will learn final ranking today

WESSON — The East Mississippi Community College football team did all it could on the field this season.

Now human voters and computers will decide its fate.

The final National Junior College Athletic Association ranking for the regular season will be released today. The poll will give an idea of EMCC’s bowl destination, which will be confirmed Tuesday.