The Starkville High School football team was held to its lowest scoring output of the year Friday night and ended its season with a 34-13 loss to Madison Central in the MHSAA Class 6A semifinals.
The Yellow Jackets’ offense struggled with holding penalties throughout the game, and they were stopped on two big fourth-down conversion attempts. The Jaguars, on the other hand, set the tempo, running the ball well to both put points on the board and control the clock.
“We didn’t get it done,” Jackets coach Chris Jones said. “We came here to win. I’m disappointed, and when you’re here and playing at this level, in this kind of game, you gotta find a way to get it done. At the end of the day we didn’t do enough, and I’ll take the blame, but now it’s back to work and we’ll try again next year.”
The Jaguars got the ball to start and drove quickly into Jackets territory after a kick return to midfield. A fumbled snap on third down from the Starkville 10 forced them to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Max Zuluaga.
The Jackets responded swiftly with a drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by quarterback Trey Petty, but it would be their last major drive until the fourth quarter. The Jaguars responded with a touchdown to take the lead and continued to build on that lead for the rest of the game.
The second quarter started with the Jackets driving well, but a routine third-and-1 turned into a fourth-and-1, and the Jaguars’ defense held and got the ball back on what was the first defensive stand of the game.
The Jaguars’ defense got another stop deep in Jacket territory. A punt return to the Jackets’ 7-yard line was called back for holding, and the Starkville defense stood firm to force a punt and give the offense another chance before halftime.
A 33-yard scramble by Petty got the Jackets into Jaguar territory, but they faced another fourth down, this time with just inches to go. Again, the Jaguars got the win they needed at the line of scrimmage and stopped the Jackets in the backfield and take a 16-7 lead into the locker room.
The Jackets went three-and-out to start the third quarter before another favorable blocking penalty on what would have been a huge return by the Jaguars. A much-needed stop got the ball back, but the offense backed itself up with a holding call. A second hold in the end zone resulted in a safety, giving Madison Central 2 points and the ball back.
The Jaguars drove and scored another touchdown, taking their lead to 24-7. Aided by another pair of holding calls, a promising Starkville drive again was undone by the Jaguars defense. A 69-yard touchdown run by Deandre Pullen made it 31-7 for the Jaguars.
A fourth-quarter Jackets score served more as a consolation than a comeback kickstarter, and the game would finish 34-13 in favor of the visitors.
“I feel like we can get better as a team, come out fighting from the start in big time games in the future,” Petty said. “We just didn’t take advantage of big opportunities we got, and we couldn’t convert on those fourth downs.”
Petty was positive for the future.
“Nobody expected us to make it this far, and it’s a big experience for us,” he said. “I think we’ll be good these next two years.”
Madison Central will face Brandon, 21-20 winners over Oak Grove, in the 6A state championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday in Hattiesburg.
Madison Central 34, Starkville 13
Madison Central (12-1) 9 7 15 3 — 34
Starkville (12-2) 7 0 0 6 — 13
First quarter
MC — Max Zuluaga FG 21, 6:34
S — Trey Petty 2 run (Joshua Eaves kick), 4:10
MC — Broderick Washington 6 run (kick failed), 0:21
Second quarter
MC — Isaiah Spencer 12 pass from Jake Norris (Zuluaga kick), 6:11
Third quarter
MC — Safety, 6:12
MC — De’Andre Pullen 6 run (kick failed), 5:07
MC — Pullen 69 run (Zuluaga kick), 0:22
Fourth quarter
S — Jaquavin Jenkins 32 pass from Petty (pass failed), 10:04
MC — Zuluaga FG 29, 6:02
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