Starkville Academy is looking to do something for the first time since the 2018 season.
In that season, the Volunteers went 8-0 to start the season, eventually finishing 9-3, and in 2023, the Vols are off to a red hot 4-0 start.
Friday night in Cleveland will give Starkville Academy an opportunity to run their record to 5-0 and continue what’s been a fantastic start to the season.
“It shows the hard work of the guys, the commitment of the team and what we’re trying to accomplish,” Starkville Academy head coach Chase Nicholson said. “4-0 is great, but we don’t look at it like that. We’re not worried about what we did the past four weeks. We have to focus on this week.”
The Vols are looking to go 1-0 every week, and they’ve achieved just that so far, facing a 2-2 Bayou Academy team that Starkville Academy got the best of in 2022.
It was a blowout, a 27-6 win for the Vols, and they own the overall edge in the matchup, 5-3.
The Vols have struggled on the road against the Colts, with SA just 1-2 in Cleveland, but Nicholson and the Vols have their minds set on another successful week on the field.
“It’s a new week, it’s a new time,” Nicholson said. “We should be a better football team. We know Bayou is going to be a better football team, so we just have to focus on ourselves and continue to get better in each phase of the game.”
Starkville (2-0) at Meridian (1-1), 7 p.m.
The 2022 and 2023 seasons are near-exact copies of each other right now for Starkville, starting off 2-0 once again with wins over Noxubee County and West Point.
Everything has been working for the Yellow Jackets to this point: solid defense and special teams and spectacular offense that’s led the way, averaging 44 points a game.
With an average win differential of 21 points, Starkville has made a statement through the first two games of the season, and that will likely continue Friday night on the road against Meridian.
“Right now, we’re trying to have a 1-0 mindset,” Starkville head coach Chris Jones said. “We’re not trying to focus on last week’s game or the fact that we’re 2-0. We’re just trying to take it one game at a time, trying to do everything within our power to be successful.”
Starkville and Meridian have quite the competitive history, with the series tied 15-15 all time.
Recent history, however, has favored the Jackets. After a four-game losing skid, Starkville has won its past three meetings against Meridian, most recently a 37-14 win in 2020.
Over those three games, the Jackets have outscored the Wildcats, 132-20, and that high-powered offense could very well be on display again come 7 p.m.
“Your best offense is an offense that is capable of taking whatever the defense gives them,” Jones said. “We don’t want to be one-dimensional. We want to be balanced.”
Caledonia (1-1) at Amory (2-0), 7 p.m.
Last Friday in Caledonia, fans, players and coaches witnessed a first in Cavalier football history.
The Cavs snapped an eight-game losing streak against Itawamba Agricultural, defeating IAHS 23-21 in their home opener, handing that program just their fourth loss since the start of the 2021 season.
It was a massive statement early on for a program that struggled in 2022 despite making a Cinderella run in the playoffs, and it gives Caledonia immense confidence heading into the remainder of the season.
“I thought our kids went out there and competed,” Caledonia head coach Michael Kelly said. “We got after it more times than not the other night and played the way we’re supposed to play. I’m extremely proud of them for that. The biggest thing is (if) can we do that two weeks in a row.”
That’s been the mentality in practice this week for the Cavaliers, now 1-1, heading to play an unbeaten Amory team that’s coming off a third-straight district championship.
The all-time matchup has heavily favored the Panthers, who handed the Cavaliers a deflating 35-0 shutout loss last season. Caledonia is 2-2 in its last four meetings against Amory.
“We had a lot of mistakes to fix,” Kelly said. “Hopefully we fixed them and our kids take ownership in it.”
Other games
Washington Academy (3-1) at Oak Hill Academy (1-2), 7 p.m.
Delta Streets Academy (0-3) at Columbus Christian Academy (0-3), 7 p.m.
Hebron Christian (1-2) at West Memphis Christian (Ark.) (0-2-1), 7 p.m.
Success Unlimited Academy (Ala.) (1-2) at Victory Christian (0-1), 7 p.m.
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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 30 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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