STARKVILLE — Not every high school team implements a bye week into their schedule, but Starkville did, and it came at the perfect time of the year.
Two district games remain for the Yellow Jackets following a 1-1 start to district play. An initial shock from Germantown in a 34-33 loss gave way to a 60-21 revenge game victory against Clinton heading into the bye week.
That’s given Starkville two weeks to prepare for its most important game of the season on Friday night as Madison Central comes to town.
“We’re focusing on trying to be 1-0,” head coach Chris Jones said. “We don’t want to look too far ahead. We have a good opponent this week, so we have to make sure we’re taking care of business.”
This matchup has been as closely contested as can be in recent years, with Starkville (6-2, 1-1 in district) holding a slight 12-10 all-time edge against the Jaguars (5-3, 1-1 in district).
However, all-time results don’t match the story over the past few seasons as Madison Central has won three of its last four matchups overall against the Jackets, dating back to 2020.
That includes a 41-21 blowout win over Starkville to begin district play last year in Madison.
“District games are crucial, so if we can get some guys healthy and give reps to some guys to create some depth, I think that’s important,” Jones said. “… They play a good brand of football and they don’t make many mistakes, so we have to make sure that we match that. Ball security and takeaways will be big (in) this game.”
Unlike last year, where Starkville had a seven-game district slate, the Jackets have just four district games that can make or break their season.
They were able to overcome an 0-3 start in district play to sneak into the playoffs, jump starting an eight-game winning streak to end the season and win a state title, but just two games remain to secure one of four spots up for grabs in the district.
This season has been one of ups and downs for the Jags, who suffered through a three-game losing skid in the middle of the season before back-to-back wins over the past two weeks, including a 49-0 shutout win over Germantown.
Starkville’s offense is a high-powered one, scoring nearly 41 points per game this season, and that will be imperative facing a defense that’s allowed 15.9 points per game, including shutouts in its last two games.
“It starts with doing the little things correctly in all phases,” Jones said. “Just good, old school football. We need to block well. We have to tackle well. We need to change the field and make sure we’re not getting beat on special teams. … This time of the year, you’re not trying to fool anybody in what you do. I just think it’s trying to play a clean football game.”
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