STARKVILLE — Starkville junior quarterback Luke Altmyer was perched on his hands and knees.
Unable to look on as Madison Central kicker Luke Bridges lined up for the potential tying field goal with 24 seconds remaining, Altmyer averted his eyes.
Bridges sliced his kick wide right.
With one more offensive play on deck, Altmyer took the snap, knelt, pointed to the sky and tossed the ball aside. Upset complete.
“You saw the reaction,” he said. “It is what it is. It’s such a good feeling.”
With kick off the mark, No. 2 Starkville (7-2) earned its sixth straight victory and its seminal moment of the season with a 24-21 upset of No. 1 Madison Central (7-1) Friday night.
“To me the sign of a good team is persevering through all the hard and all the mistakes,” Yellow Jackets coach Chris Jones said. “… We came back and finally started making some plays and gave us a chance to win.”
While it was a special teams miscue that granted Starkville the win, it was the Yellow Jacket defense that paved the way early.
Senior defensive back Khiry Gee notched the first of his two interceptions of the night off Madison Central quarterback Jimmy Holiday just the second play of the game.
Altmyer converted on the interception when he delivered a 10-yard strike to senior receiver Rufus Harvey — who totaled eight catches for 106 yards — for the game’s first score.
Following the touchdown, the Yellow Jacket defense forced a three-and-out. Lining up to punt, a wayward snap sputtered to the Madison Central 6-yard line before punter Aiden Duncan fell on it. Starkville would again convert by way of a Peyton Rodgers 21-yard field goal — his lone make on three attempts.
“I just knew I had to get it,” Gee said. “I had to make a play.”
Despite the early deficit, Holiday responded resoundingly. The TCU commit guided the Jaguars on scoring drives of 46 and 80 yards — the latter of which concluded with his 65-yard scoring run — to retake the lead 14-10.
Unflinched, Altmyer delivered the second of his three passing touchdowns when he again connected with Harvey from 10 yards out with 2:42 remaining in the first half.
The Yellow Jackets earned the eventual winning score courtesy of a late-developing crossing route from senior receiver Joshua Aka, who finished the game with four catches for 30 yards.
With three receivers to the right, Altmyer held his ground in the pocket. Lofting a ball just as the Madison Central defense bore down on the quarterback, Aka received the pass near the 3-yard line.
Fighting through one final defender, he whipped across the goal line and in for a touchdown.
“When I crossed the plane it was just a glorious moment,” Aka said through an ear-to-ear grin. “It was just great — I was happy to put our team up and put on for the city.”
Though three games remain, Starkville should control its own destiny in the race for the District 2 title. The Yellow Jackets should be favored in contests against Murrah, Warren Central and Clinton, as that trio boasts a combined record of 9-13 this season.
That said, Friday showed that Starkville is, in fact, one of the state’s top teams — regardless of its 1-2 start.
“We don’t look at the rankings that much,” Aka said. “We just feel as if we’re one of the best, if not the best, and I would put my cards against anyone else.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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