HATTIESBURG — Starkville was up 28-10 as the clock ran out on the third quarter, but it looked as if Brandon had finally figured the Yellow Jackets out.
Bulldogs running back Nate Blount had strung together a fantastic drive as Brandon cut into the lead with its first touchdown of the game. Blount ran for 58 of the 67 yards in the drive.
Brandon was driving once again in that third quarter, deep into Starkville territory, when the Jackets found a way to stop the 5-foot-10, 230-pound running back by quite literally ripping the ball out of his hands.
Jejuan Davis took it away from Blount, and Starkville’s Jaylon York picked up the ball as the Yellow Jackets went back down to score another touchdown, effectively putting Saturday night’s MHSAA Class 6A title game to bed as Starkville took home its seventh state title in school history with a 48-32 win.
“It’s all about these kids; they never gave up,” Starkville head coach Chris Jones said. “We’ve been playing like this for a long time. We’ve been in playoff mode for a long time. Hats off to these kids. I’m happy we finished the right way. Proud of them.”
Like in the semifinals against Tupelo, Saturday night was the Trey Petty show for the Yellow Jackets (12-3), with the junior quarterback accounting for five total touchdowns.
Petty finished the game with 256 total yards, a 68.4 percent completion percentage, three rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns for Starkville.
Braylon Burnside and York both had great receiving games in the win, with Burnside recording four catches for 114 receiving yards and York recording five catches for 56 yards. Both players caught touchdown passes from Petty.
“I’ve been double-covered the past three games, so that right there, playing one on one, it’s my ball,” Burnside said. “It’s going to continue to be like that. We came out, fought hard … I tell (Petty) to trust me all the time. Trust me, and I’m going to catch it. That’s what he did, and that’s what I did.”
Blount ended up having himself quite the game for Brandon (12-2), rushing for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
The fact that Starkville was able to neutralize the Bulldogs’ star back was the big reason why Starkville built such a formidable lead in the first half, taking a 21-3 lead into halftime.
Brandon’s only points of the quarter came from an untimed down on the final play of the half.
Unlike in its semifinal matchup against Tupelo, Starkville was able to build a lead and hold onto it quite handily, with the strip of Blount virtually sealing the deal late. Brandon scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but they came too late to change the outcome.
It took a bit early on for Starkville to get things going offensively, but once Petty started getting things going, it was smooth sailing from there.
His play came up that much bigger in the second quarter, completing two key conversions on third-and-10 with around six minutes left in the half and a fourth-and-1 inside Brandon’s 15-yard line with a minute or so left.
“I feel like I came out aggressive,” Petty said. “I love crowds like this. I love playing good teams. I feel like it makes me better, makes me play harder, and I think I just played my butt off and my teammates played their butts off.”
In plus territory at the time, those conversions led to two scoring drives to put Starkville out in front, 21-0, before the last-gasp field goal.
Courtland Cooper added to the state championship party in the fourth quarter, rushing for two touchdowns, showing off his strength and finesse in a big way.
The ball was shared amongst the running back committee of Starkville, as CJ Willis led the Yellow Jackets with 85 yards, with Petty and Cooper not far behind with 60-plus rushing yards each.
In total, Starkville ran for 250 yards and five touchdowns, a fitting end to a wild season that put to bed a six-year state championship drought for the Yellow Jackets.
“I’m proud of them boys,” Petty said. “It feels great. We stuck together. We played hard. We made history tonight.”
Starkville 48, Brandon 32
Brandon (12-2) 0 3 7 22 — 32
Starkville (12-3) 7 14 14 13 — 48
First quarter
S — Trey Petty 1 run (Will Wells kick), clock 4:00
Second quarter
S — Braylon Burnside 22 pass from Petty (Wells kick), clock 5:04
S — Petty 1 run (Wells kick), clock 0:19
B — Will Elliott 38 FG, clock 0:00
Third quarter
S — Petty 2 run (Wells kick), clock 11:11
B — Nate Blount 7 run (Elliott kick), clock 7:31
S — Jaylon York 13 pass from Petty (Wells kick), clock 0:05
Fourth quarter
S — Courtland Cooper 12 run (kick failed), clock 9:32
B — Lester Miller 14 pass from Landon Varnes Blount run), clock 8:49
S — Courtland Cooper 14 run (Wells kick), clock 4:23
B — Miller 11 pass from Varnes (Blount run), clock 3:18
B — Blount 1 run (run failed), clock 1:59
MHSAA championship scores
Friday
Raleigh 55, Noxubee County 52, Class 3A
Bay Springs 22, McEvans 0, Class 1A
Picayune 31, West Point 21, Class 5A
Saturday
Louisville 17, Mendenhall 14, Class 4A
Scott Central 42, Charleston 12, Class 2A
Starkville vs. Brandon, Class 6A
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