LOUISVILLE — A turnover on downs five yards from the end zone, followed by a 95-yard touchdown drive the other way in the fourth quarter, is about as demoralizing a stretch as a football team can experience.
But Starkville High, which suffered such a fate Friday night against Louisville to fall behind by 15 points, did not quit. The Yellow Jackets scored a quick touchdown, recovered an onside kick and scored again all within barely two minutes to give themselves a chance. But the late rally came up just short as the Wildcats won their 30th straight game by defeating Starkville, 42-41.
“You play a good team like this, every play matters,” Yellow Jackets head coach Chris Jones said. “Every mistake that you make, they’re going to capitalize on it. At the end of the day, they made more plays than we did. We have to do a better job finding a way to stop the run and finding a way to score in the red zone.”
Starkville (3-1), despite running exactly one offensive play in the first quarter, had a 7-0 lead after 12 minutes. Louisville’s ball-control offense was clicking all night long, almost lulling the Yellow Jackets to sleep, and all three Wildcats running backs were hitting holes and picking up chunk yardage. But Starkville managed to get a stop on the first drive of the game, and then Jaylen Ruffin connected with Davarrious Hairston for an 80-yard touchdown to open the scoring.
Louisville (4-0) took the lead during a wild second quarter, though, and never gave it back. Korben Sanders’ touchdown run, coupled with a two-point conversion, put the Wildcats in front, and the hosts extended the lead following a three-and-out on a short pass from Xavier Hunt to Mitchell Turner.
“It started with the offensive line,” Louisville head coach Tyrone Shorter said. “Those guys have been together for a long time, and I challenged those guys to come out tonight. We wanted to run the football, and we did tonight. We wanted to control the clock.”
The Yellow Jackets punched back, using the Ruffin-Hairston connection again to tie the game. Hairston’s second touchdown of the game came on an acrobatic catch on the left boundary of the end zone. But a 58-yard run by Hunt on the next Wildcats possession set up a 14-yard touchdown from freshman running back Zaiden Jernigan. The teams traded touchdowns once more before halftime, leaving Louisville up 28-21 at the break.
Starkville was on the brink of tying the game again on the first drive of the second half, only for Ruffin to make an ill-advised throw that Ty’Narrius Wraggs intercepted after the Yellow Jackets reached the red zone. Louisville capitalized on the turnover, driving 88 yards and finding the end zone again on a 14-yard run by X’Zarion Haynes.
“(Ruffin) doesn’t like losing. He was upset about it, which is a good thing,” Jones said. “But (I told him) to keep your head up. He had a pretty good game. It’s just growing pains. We’ll get better from it.”
Ruffin threw his third touchdown pass of the night on Starkville’s possession, a 21-yard strike to Isaiah Witherspoon to cut the deficit back to one score. The Yellow Jackets then forced a turnover of their own, recovering a fumble on their own 35-yard line, and then caught a massive break when the Wildcats muffed a punt. But Louisville’s defense stood tall on the goal line, stopping A’Braylen Jenkins on a fourth-and-3 at the 5.
Starkville missed its extra point after Witherspoon’s touchdown, and Jones stopped kicking them after that, going for two after its last two scores. The Yellow Jackets were successful on just one of them, and that proved to be the difference in the game.
“We just didn’t line up well,” Jones said. “They were more physical than we were. You have to win the game in the trenches, and I didn’t think we did that. I have to go back and watch film and see if there’s anything we could have done better as coaches.”
Louisville 42, Starkville 41
Starkville 7 14 6 14 — 41
Louisville 0 28 7 7 — 42
First quarter
S — Davarrius Hairston 80 pass from Jaylen Ruffin (Jacori Gallegos kick), clock 7:27
Second quarter
L — Korben Sanders 8 run (Joshua Ammons run), clock 11:53
L — Mitchell Turner 5 pass from Xavier Hunt (run failed), clock 8:18
S — Hairston 25 pass from Ruffin (Gallegos kick), clock 6:05
L — Zaiden Jernigan 14 run (Adan Espino kick), clock 5:17
S — Torian Knox 6 run (Gallegos kick), clock 1:44
L — Jernigan 3 run (Espino kick), clock 0:28
Third quarter
L — X’Zarion Haynes 14 run (Espino kick), clock 5:04
S — Isaiah Witherspoon 21 pass from Ruffin (kick failed), clock 3:18
Fourth quarter
L — Haynes 21 run (Espino kick), clock 3:15
S — A’Braylen Jenkins 39 pass from Ruffin (pass failed), clock 1:29
S — Jenkins 1 run (Hairston pass from Ruffin), clock 1:03
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