MACON — It turns out there is life after Gabe Myles for the Starkville High School football program.
In his first start at quarterback since the ninth grade, Princeton Jones had the composure and maturity of a player who has been under center for multiple seasons. Jones led the Yellow Jackets and six other new starters on offense Friday night in a 17-0 victory against Noxubee County High in the season opener for both teams.
Jones, a converted wide receiver, was 7 of 17 for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
“My offensive line really let me settle down and run the offense,” Jones said. “I’m proud of my guys up front because they’re already great, and when Monday comes next week they know I’ll be out there trying to get better.”
Jones’ first pass in a varsity game was a fade route to Raphael Leonard in the corner of the end zone. Leonard, the 6-foot-1 receiver who Starkville is looking to have a big year as a junior, went over two defenders to give Starkville a 7-0 lead 55 seconds into the game.
“That was a huge confidence booster for me and the team,” Jones said. “I didn’t think (Leonard) would be able to stay in bounds, but he did a great job of making a play.”
Starkville’s defense, which is expected to lead the charge as the 2012 Class 5A state champions re-enter Class 6A, found an opportunistic break on the first play of the game when they recovered a Noxubee County fumble. Devonte Scott didn’t properly secure the ball on a toss right. Two plays later, Starkville’s coaches put the game in Jones’ hands.
At one point late in the first half, Jones was 4 of 6 for 94 yards and had led an offense that hadn’t committed a penalty or a turnover. Starkville dominated the time of possession with quick passes and screens to speedster Darius Grayer to take a 10-0 halftime lead.
“Our recipe is for him to get better and better,so if he continues to do that then we’ll be a team that can do some things offensively with more consistency,” Starkville coach Jamie Mitchell said.
To make the playbook easier to understand in hectic situations, the Starkville coaches have taken a page from the University of Oregon coaches by using flip boards with numbers that represent the play number on the players’ wristbands. As soon as the ball is put down, Starkville coaches hold up a flip card sign with a number that represents the play. That system gave Jones 14 to 15 seconds left in the play clock to make sure everything was set correctly.
“He was very calm, and it was very surprising to me how well he looked as a new quarterback,” Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter said. “Now their offensive line did a excellent job because we threw everything at him, but we were just a step slow.”
Noxubee County tried to bring every blitz it had in its playbook to rattle Jones, but couldn’t get into the backfield. In a 29-8 victory last year in Starkville, Dylan Bradley, The Dispatch’s 2012 Defensive Player of the Year, had four sacks, but the 2013 Tigers didn’t record a sack.
The only turnover Jones had was a interception on a tipped ball on a wide receiver screen that nearly went for a touchdown the other way. Leonard caught Noxubee County’s Eric Hunt from behind near midfield and appeared to strip the football, but the officials granted possession to the Tigers.
Jones sealed the victory on a beautiful pump-and-go route to wide receiver A.J. Brown. Jones froze the double coverage with the pump fake as he back pedaled and hit Brown for a 26-yard pitch-and-catch to make it 17-0.
“Everybody bit on the pump fake,” Jones said. “I was shocked at how wide open he was, but they probably came with a blitz and then the corner tried to jump the route right as I pumped. It was a perfect play call.”
Starkville only allowed Noxubee County, the defending Class 4A state champions, 52 yards of total offense in the second half. The Tigers return only two starters on offense and will try to replace the loss of 23 seniors from the 2012 state title team. Senior Jessie Bryant, Noxubee County’s top receiving threat, was double covered by revolving safeties in defensive coordinator Brooks Oakley’s rolling coverage. Bryant, a 6-foot-2, 175-pounder, only had two fourth-quarter catches for 40 yards.
“We let them drive the length of the field twice in the game and we didn’t cave in,” Mitchell said. “There’s just too much experience on that side for us not to rely on them this season. That defensive group is special.”
The last time Noxubee County was shut out was a 20-0 loss to Lafayette County in the 2010 Class 4A North State final. The Tigers, who are trying to piece together a running attack after losing The Dispatch’s 2012 Player of the Year Darrell Robinson to graduation, were held to just 72 yards on 42 carries. Starkville’s defensive front, which returns six of seven from 2012, constantly moved up field and created havoc, led by junior defensive end A.J. Smith and sophomore defensive tackle Maleke Bell. Smith had two sacks and helped contain the scrambling of sophomore quarterback Tamorris Conner.
The victory marks the first time under Mitchell and first time since 2007 that Starkville has started 1-0. It will play host to Oxford (1-0) next week in what the schools are calling “The Little Egg Bowl.”
Noxubee County will play host to Class 6A Columbus on Friday.
Follow Matt Stevens on Twitter @matthewcstevens
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