Prep football capsules: New Hope aims to slow down West Point

Another quick start — a West Point staple — Friday at New Hope could mean victory for the Green Wave.

What MHSAA realignment for 2021-22, 2022-23 school years means for local prep football and basketball

No local schools will be reclassified, but there’s plenty of movement within their regions.

‘It was his time’: Former Starkville assistant Ray Westerfield finding success at Kemper County as first-year head coach

DE KALB — Ray Westerfield taught Dicenzo Miller II how to play quarterback.

For Starkville Academy football, Simpson County Academy poses first playoff test

STARKVILLE — Outside the Starkville Academy field house on Wednesday afternoon, the hurdles sit in a row, soaking slowly in the steady rain.

Starkville up a spot in Class 6A in new Mississippi high school football poll

The Yellow Jackets went from fourth to third in the class while remaining fifth in the overall rankings.

Monday Profile: After world record, West Point tattoo artist focuses on making clients happy

Robbie Koch likes to say he has one big tattoo.

Koch, the owner of Robbie’s Coon Tattoo & Body Piercing in West Point, counted once: He’s been tattooed by 63 different artists as well as himself. But that’s no longer the number he focuses on.

Onyi Echegini nets equalizer as Mississippi State soccer fights Missouri to a draw

STARKVILLE — Onyi Echegini didn’t even have to move.

Prep football roundup: Caledonia clinches playoff spot with home win over South Pontotoc

Darrius Triplett accounted for two scores as Caledonia punched its ticket to the postseason.

Lockdown defense, balanced offense lead Noxubee County over Choctaw County

The Tigers’ defense flexed its dominance in a shutout win to clinch the top seed in Region 4-3A.

Prep football capsules: New Hope expecting — not just hoping for — win over Lafayette

The Trojans have lost two straight games as they prepare for the best defense in Region 1-5A, but coach Wade Tackett’s high expectations haven’t wavered.

Friends in low places: Columbus, West Point both bring losing streaks into Friday’s matchup

WEST POINT — Chris Chambless doesn’t know the last time the West Point football team lost two games in a row.

Starkville High School girls basketball enters 14-day quarantine because of COVID-19

The Jackets will be forced to cancel an Oct. 31 game in Tupelo and will not be able to practice or compete until the quarantine is over.

New Hope volleyball’s stellar season comes to an end against Lake Cormorant in semifinals

NEW HOPE — When the New Hope volleyball team learned it would be facing Lake Cormorant in Tuesday’s MHSAA Class 5A semifinal, the Trojans couldn’t help but think back to last year’s first-round playoff match, in which New Hope earned an exciting, tense five-set win to knock the Gators out of the postseason.

Starkville, West Point plummet in new Mississippi high school football poll

The Yellow Jackets were bumped down after losing at Madison Central, while the Green Wave fell out of the poll entirely after two straight losses.

Prep volleyball playoffs: Caledonia comes up one comeback short in five-set heartbreaker against Corinth

Also Saturday, New Hope beat Center Hill to make the MHSAA Class 5A semifinals.

Prep football roundup: Starkville, West Point both fall on the road; Noxubee County steamrolls Hatley

The Jaguars’ Vic Sutton scored from 10 yards out with 4:49 to go to send Starkville to its first defeat this year, while the Green Wave lost their second straight game.

Heritage Academy defense comes up big in rivalry win over Starkville Academy

The Patriots’ defense pitched a second-half shutout as Heritage Academy pulled ahead in the all-time series, 27-26.

More than a manager: How Emma Alexander became New Hope volleyball’s ‘assistant assistant coach’

A little more than a year since she took the position without knowing anything about the sport, Alexander has truly become an integral part of a standout New Hope team — and someone the Trojans will miss once their excellent season comes to an end.

Prep football capsules: Hosting Lake Cormorant, Columbus looks for something to go its way

The Falcons’ 1-5 record likely belies their talent: Their biggest loss was by 13 points, and they haven’t lost a game by more than a touchdown since. But the Falcons need to turn in wins sooner or later.

Coach of the year: Stephani Gonzalez honored by Swim Columbus team for statewide award

Gonzalez, in her third year coaching Swim Columbus, was named the age group coach of the year by Mississippi Swimming on Sunday.