STARKVILLE — The cool fall air finally seemed to settle in Mississippi on Friday, and with it the intensity of teams readying for playoff action.

Only one team was thinking of those ambitions at Starkville High School yesterday, and that was the Yellow Jackets as they made a 55-14 win look routine.

“I was excited about the way we came out and executed tonight,” SHS head coach John Carr said of the performance. He noted some issues, notably the one turnover by his team, but overall was pleased with the execution.

Starkville scored touchdowns on each of the first four offensive possessions, and led 42-6 at halftime to get a running clock going in the second half.

The Jackets (6-2, 2-1) won their second straight in Class 7A play and put themselves in a good position following a loss on the road to Germantown two weeks ago. They have two tough matchups on the horizon, a visit from Madison Central next week and a trip to Oxford for the Little Egg Bowl at the start of November, so operating at a high level was exactly what Carr wanted to see last night.

“This is the time of year you’ve got to start playing your best football,” Carr said. “Challenging the guys, and this week I thought they responded well.”

Quarterback Kingston Johnson finished the night 13-15 passing, recording 217 yards and a pair of touchdown passes, finding receiver Davis Harrelson in the end zone twice in the first half. The junior, starting in his first year after moving to Starkville, has taken hold of the offense quickly and shown the right stuff to lead a prolific group.

“He’s grown up a lot,” Carr said of his quarterback. “He’s got a very good understanding of the offense. I think our guys are starting to click and have a better understanding of each other, and the offensive line played well tonight. So, again, just excited about where we’re at and we’ve got to finish this thing strong.”

Johnson wasn’t alone in the offensive production. Running backs A’Braylen Jenkins and Torian Knox both averaged more than 11 yards per carry while recording a pair of touchdowns each. Jenkins, who netted 84 yards from just four carries, finished with 156 all-purpose yards thanks to his work at receiver and as a kick returner.

“There’s only one ball, but I’ll tell you this, it doesn’t take long to figure out our guys, when they get the ball, they’re explosive,” Carr said. “A’Braylen is one of them, Kingston’s another one, and we’ve still got to get our tight end the ball, too. We try to stay balanced by spreading the ball to different guys, not so much run-pass, but getting all our playmakers touches. When that happens, we’ve got a chance to get explosive plays.”

The Jackets did have a couple of slip-ups on defense and special teams. Murrah receiver Jouston Foster returned a kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown, and got behind the SHS secondary on a couple of occasions, too. The Mustangs scored just once on offense in the second half, though by then, there were several substitutions made by the Jackets.

Starkville’s next opponent, Madison Central, fell to 4-4 on Friday with a 21-17 loss at Germantown. A win could set up a winner-take-all district decider for Region 2-7A in Oxford on Nov. 6 against the Chargers, who are 7-1 and undefeated in district after a 33-23 win over Clinton.