STARKVILLE — Avery Brown knew he had to give everything he had in the first 18 minutes of Friday night’s game.
The Starkville High School senior running back scored two touchdowns on the first two possessions to give his team a 14-0 lead against KIPP Collegiate (Tenn.). He saw his offense score one more touchdown that pushed the Yellow Jackets’ advantage to three touchdowns and ended his night.
“I really was kind of angry because my backup probably had more yards than me,” Brown said with a smile. “Coach told me before the game started, ‘You better get all the yards you can because you’re going to be sitting out.’ I just had to make it happen.”
Brown rushed for 88 yards, but his backup sophomore Andreus Swanigan rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-0 victory at Yellow Jacket Stadium on a night where everyone got to play and starters earned a needed rest with a running clock in the second half.
The first-string offense left the game with a little more than five minutes remaining in the first half. The Yellow Jackets (3-1) built a 28-0 lead after scoring on their first three possessions and a Terrance Grayer 73-yard punt return for a touchdown.
It wasn’t all that bad for Brown and the other starters, as they joked on the sidelines in the second half and rested for the final 24 minutes.
“We enjoy watching them because the young guys go against the first O (offense) and the first D (defense), so we just have to root them on harder and harder,” Brown said. “If the second O goes against the first D, that means the second O is going to be better.”
Brown had touchdowns of 14 and 9 yards. Swanigan had a 5-yard touchdown and busted a 62-yard run on the first play from scrimmage in the second half.
Senior quarterback Montario Montgomery completed all three passes he attempted for 78 yards. He hit Tavian Clark for a 35-yard touchdown late in the first quarter. Montgomery’s backup, sophomore Ben Owens, was 5 of 7 for 101 yards. Owens added a 5-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
“I wanted to get my young guys on the field because they deserved every bit of it,” Montgomery said. “I just wanted to get them some experience in the game.”
This week was originally supposed to be a bye week, but Starkville’s game against Neville High School (La.) scheduled for next week fell through. First-year coach Ricky Woods didn’t want two-straight bye weeks, so he scheduled the game against KIPP.
“You got the most you could out of this game,” Woods said. “We got all our young kids in. It’s a lot better than having an open date.”
Starkville’s first three games weren’t decided until the fourth quarter or later, so its starters had to remain on the field in the fourth quarter. The opener saw Starkville lose to Noxubee County 26-20 in double overtime in Macon. In the second week, Starkville used a touchdown in the fourth quarter to beat Oxford 20-7. Last week, Starkville stopped West Point’s ground game and won 16-0 in a defensive struggle.
Starkville has next week off before starting Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 2 play at Callaway.
“They’ll practice harder,” Woods said. “You get better at practice and you can tell.”
Last season, the Yellow Jackets had several games decided early with quarterback Brady Davis and wide receiver Raphael Leonard running the show. Starkville had a seven-game stretch in the middle of the season when it outscored opponents 253-16. In the regular season, Warren Central (27-17 loss) and Clinton (56-46) were the only close games Starkville played. South Panola was the only team to beat Starkville, rallying from a12-0 halftime deficit to win 36-26 in the Class 6A North Half championship game.
In nearly every game, the Yellow Jackets came out looking like they weren’t going to be stopped. The easy games gave them confidence and something they could build on.
Montgomery saw the starters develop that confidence. He said the bye week is all about the players perfecting their craft, which should be easy after having so much success.
Starkville was without junior linebacker Abdural Lee, who missed the game due to injury, but the Yellow Jackets have been healthy for the most part this season. Brown has battled an ankle injury all season, but he has pushed through, so the bye week should help him.
Combine the limited repetitions he had last week with a bye week and Brown should be 100 percent when Starkville takes the field again.
“It was nice,” Brown said. “It will get me ready for district play.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
