STARKVILLE — Starkville Academy senior Dylan Miller knows it’s the time of the year when his job is most important.
As the Volunteers’ kicker and punter, Miller is well aware that when the playoffs roll around, he has to be on his A game — particularly on a cold, wet night when points are at a premium.
“It can be stressful, but I know I’m going to be able to pull through if I have to,” Miller said.
And against Lamar School in Friday’s MAIS Class 5A first-round playoff game, Miller delivered when his team needed him.
He bashed three punts of 50 or more yards, knocked through a 41-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and made both extra points, providing a big spark in a 17-7 Volunteers win.
“He’s a weapon, man,” Starkville Academy coach Chase Nicholson said. “People don’t always understand what a kicker can do, but when you have somebody like that, it’s big time.”
Miller rebounded from missing a 38-yard kick at the end of the first half to connect from 41 into the wind to extend the Volunteers’ lead to two scores. Starkville Academy (7-4) kept Lamar (3-8) from scoring again and advanced to the 5A quarterfinals, where the Vols will take on Heritage Academy (9-1) next Friday in Columbus.
Starkville Academy is 0-5 against the rival Patriots in the past three seasons, including postseason losses in the 2019 championship game and the 2020 quarterfinals.
“A lot of us seniors, we’ve been losing to Heritage for a couple years now, and it does not feel good,” Miller said. “We’re ready to rock.”
The Vols showed that early in Friday’s game, exploding for two first-quarter touchdowns and looking like they might run away with the contest.
Senior wide receiver Brady Johnson caught a 48-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Randall Futral less than two minutes in, and the Vols stopped the Raiders on fourth-and-3 at their own 44-yard line.
After a key 26-yard run by Futral to the Lamar 6 on third-and-10, Charlie Nicholas punched in a 3-yard touchdown to make it a 14-0 game. Starkville Academy seemed well on its way to a blowout first-round victory.
But Lamar had other plans. The Raiders halted the Volunteers’ offense from there, taking advantage of a fumble by Nicholas in Lamar territory midway through the second quarter.
The visitors cashed in a pass interference call on Starkville Academy on fourth-and-10 at the Vols’ 25 as Austin Acton ran for a 4-yard touchdown with 49 seconds to go before the half.
Lamar threatened to even the score on the first possession of the third quarter, but SA got its third fourth-down stop of the game, stuffing the Raiders on fourth-and-a-foot at the Vols’ 41.
Nicholson praised a defensive performance that epitomized “bend but don’t break.” SA let the Raiders off the hook a few too many times on third down but never allowed a chunk play and kept Lamar out of the red zone nearly all night.
“They had a couple of big first downs, but it wasn’t a big play over the top necessarily,” Nicholson said. “They’re going to catch some balls, but we took away the big play, and that’s what they make a living off of.”
The Vols see the Raiders every year and beat them 28-14 in the second game of the season Aug. 27, so they knew what to expect from coach Mac Barnes’ team even if they couldn’t expect the same result as two months prior.
“You kind of know his philosophy and know his style, and that helps you along the way,” Nicholson said.
Miller helped, too, hitting from 41 yards when the Vols’ drive stalled out seconds into the final quarter. His field goal split the uprights with room to spare despite the gusty conditions.
“I’d love to see that kick right there if not with the wind,” Nicholson said.
The Raiders moved the ball slowly — too slowly — on their final drive, turning the ball over on downs at the SA 40 with 1:35 to go. The Vols ran one play before kneeling out the clock and securing the victory.
“You could tell how badly they really wanted to stay alive for another week, and we get to,” Nicholson said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Now, Starkville Academy will again face its rival in a playoff game with so much on the line. Of course, to Nicholson, the opponent across the line of scrimmage is hardly significant.
“It doesn’t matter who it is next week,” Nicholson said. “We just want to play football, and we’re glad to still be playing football. It happens to be Heritage, so we’re going to line up and get ready to go to work.”
Starkville Academy 17, Lamar School 7
Lamar School (3-8) 0 7 0 0 — 7
Starkville Academy (7-4) 14 0 0 3 — 17
First quarter
SA — Brady Johnson 48 pass from Randall Futral (Dylan Miller kick), 10:05
SA — Charlie Nicholas 3 run (Miller kick), 4:47
Second quarter
LS — Austin Acton 4 run (Zagar Cooper kick), 0:49
Fourth quarter
SA — Miller 41 FG, 11:46
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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