STARKVILLE — Gabe Myles is back to his old self.
An attitude adjustment is all the Starkville High School senior quarterback needed to return to the mind-set he enjoyed before all the recruiting hype, All-Star nominations, and player of the year honors.
Myles earned season-highs in rushing (101 yards) and throwing (155 yards) Friday night in a 46-0 victory against Yazoo City.
“I needed to start having fun again, and it was on me to create that feeling of just having fun with my friends,” Myles said. “It’s that simple. If you’re having fun, you’re playing better.”
Myles, The Dispatch’s 2011 Player of the Year, looked to have full confidence in an ankle he injured earlier in the season, as Starkville used him on rollouts and quarterback draws.
Myles also completed a pass to six receivers to help the Yellow Jackets (6-3, 5-0) extend their undefeated streak in Class 5A, Region 2 action to 12 games.
“We had a leadership meeting this week, and I’ve been a part of that, but now is the time for me to show some leadership to the younger guys and keep them focused,” Myles said. “One of the ways I feel I can do that is keeping everybody loose and for everybody to see me smile.”
Myles was smiling after the first play from scrimmage thanks to a 28-yard touchdown pass to Kentrell Spencer that gave Starkville a 7-0 lead 47 seconds into the game.
“He’s just got so many weapons behind him to work with,” Starkville coach Jamie Mitchell said. “When you have three different players to hand it to and six or seven to throw it to and you have confidence in all of them, this game is pretty fun.”
Yazoo City (4-5, 2-3) didn’t get off the bus when or how they would’ve liked to. Due to what school officials told Starkville Athletics Director Stan Miller was complications on their 115-mile bus trip to Starkville, Yazoo City didn’t arrive at Yellowjackets Stadium until after 7 p.m., the scheduled start time, which caused a 30-minute delay. Forty-seven seconds after receiving the opening kickoff, the Indians trailed to a team that hasn’t allowed an offensive touchdown in region play this season. Starkville’s defense has 20 straight quarters of shutouts. The score allowed in region play was a interception return for a touchdown at Provine.
“In over 20 years I’ve never seen anything like what our defense is doing,” Mitchell said. “You would think our second string or really young backups would have a breakdown, and that’s natural, but we just haven’t.”
Starkville held Chris Smith, Yazoo City’s best athlete and a deep threat in the passing game, to zero catches and to 9 yards on three carries.
The injury report also got smaller for Starkville, as senior tailback Preston Baker played with a badly injured ankle and rushed for 46 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown run, and had 5 yards receiving. Starkville also saw the return of senior wide receiver Jimmy Saulsberry, who suffered a severe leg injury in the summer. He had one catch for 7 yards.
“I had to get my man Saulsberry the ball if he was finally getting back on the field,” Myles said. “It was great to see him out there and doing some of the old stuff when he was healthy.”
Darius Grayer led Starkville with 99 yards rushing and two touchdowns. He doubled his touchdown total for the year.
Starkville can clinch back-to-back region championships and a first-round home playoff game next week when it travels to Jackson to take on Callaway.
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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 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
