The fields around Starkville High School were, if you’ll pardon the expression, a beehive of activity Wednesday.
A handful of baseball players, soccer players and young softball players were on their respective fields. At the football stadium, cheerleaders were running the bleacher steps on the visitors side while another Starkville team was running, and sometimes hopping, the steps on the home side.
It’s doubtful Yellow Jackets football coach Chris Jones heard any of it. Heck, he barely notices the frenzied crowds that have watched his team rally to win big games this season.
“I don’t pay attention,” Jones said before practice. “I’m so weird and different. I’ve never turned around and looked at the fans. I never hear what people say.”
In coaching, that’s probably a good thing, but the noise only will get louder as Starkville approaches a potential district title and a possible undefeated season. The next step toward those goals comes Friday night, when Starkville (8-0, 4-0 6A-2), No. 4 in the AP Mississippi Top 10, welcomes Oxford (3-1, 5-3) to town for the Little Egg Bowl.
The Chargers are coming off their first district loss, a 23-6 setback to Clinton, while the Yellow Jackets enjoyed a rare laugher last week in a 50-0 win over Murrah.
“Good team,” Jones said of Oxford. “I think they’re well coached. They’ve been really, really competitive, competing for a state championship the past couple of years. We’ve got our work cut out.”
Oxford won the 6A championship in 2019 and has won district titles the past two years. But this year is different.
“In the past, they weren’t in the district, and now they’re part of the district so it’s real big now,” Jones said. “There’s more than bragging rights. This is for a chance to get into the playoffs. We’re excited about the challenge.”
Oxford’s other losses were back-to-back defeats to Ruston (Louisiana) and Lafayette in mid-September.
Chargers quarterback Michael Harvey averages 120 yards passing per game, often looking for Dane Harmon. Omar Howell and Roman Gregory are the top running backs in a ground game that racks up almost 150 yards per game.
But Starkville has answers, of course. Sophomore quarterback Trey Petty gets a lot of the attention, but he has plenty of weapons, with Braylon Burnside and Jaquez Harris to throw to and Jordan Mitchell taking handoffs. And there are plenty of others who can make a big play when they get the ball in their hands.
But while the Chargers are averaging a decent 22.4 points per game, the Yellow Jackets have been scoring at a 33.7-points-per-game clip.
And they’ve needed every one of those points a few times, as in consecutive weeks the Yellow Jackets had to rally to beat Louisville (28-23), Madison Central (35-28), Clinton (28-21) and Tupelo (28-21). Their other wins were by far more comfortable margins, but Jones said he learned a lot about his team from the close ones.
“They’ll fight,” he said. “There’s no quit, they don’t flinch, they don’t point fingers. To me, those are the signs of good teams. Any time you’ve got kids like that, you’ve got a chance to win.”
All they’ve done this season is win, but they’ve also won a lot against Oxford over the years. The Yellow Jackets hold an impressive 33-11-1 record against the Chargers, and while Oxford beat Starkville during their championship season two years ago, Starkville has won 14 of the past 16 meetings in a series that dates to 1940.
“We always have a good program, year in and year out,” Jones said. “We’re always up there and they’re used to winning here, so the expectations here are to win every year. Seven games, eight games, that’s not good enough, and I understand that. My standards and expectations are high also, so that doesn’t bother me.”
And his players?
“They grew up with pressure,” Jones said. “We’ve got kids who haven’t lost a game since sixth, seventh grade. Winning is the standard here. So I guess it is a little pressure. That’s just kind of who we are.”
Madison Central and Oxford are the teams right behind Starkville in the 6A-2 standings, and as the Yellow Jackets already own a win over the Jaguars, a win Friday night puts them in firm control of the race with games against Germantown (4-4, 2-2 6A-2) and Grenada (5-3, 1-3) left. An 18th district title is within reach, and that should make any demanding fans in the stands happy, even if Jones doesn’t hear them.
“I enjoy coaching here,” Jones said. “I enjoy Friday nights. It feels good to me just to see kids happy and excited. I always just get excited when kids have fun on game days.
“Friday should always be special, no matter who’s in the stands or if nobody is in the stands.”
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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 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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A successful field goal try heads toward the goalposts during football practice Wednesday at Starkville High School in preparation for Friday's district game against Oxford. Tom Rysinski/Dispatch Staff
Starkville High School linemen go through a drill during Wednesday's practice at the school. The Yellow Jackets host Oxford on Friday night in a key Class 6A, Region 2 game. Tom Rysinski/Dispatch Staff
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