STARKVILLE — For once this season, the Starkville High School football team’s defense needed a little help.
The offense responded in fine fashion Friday night by scoring the final 10 points to help Starkville pull away for a 38-17 victory in a Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A, Region 2 game.
“If we want to get to where we got to last year, we have to play this kind of ball,” Starkville coach Chris Jones said. “We still have to get a little bit better, but I thought we did a pretty good job in all phases.”
Starkville’s defense entered the game allowing 9.1 points per game. Antonio Thompson’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Corey Wilson Jr. in the third quarter cut Starkville’s lead to 21-14 and gave the Vikings (4-5, 3-3 region) hope they could keep their playoff hopes alive.
But Starkville (9-1, 5-1) adjusted after Warren Central contained its running game. After using several screen passes in the first half, the Yellow Jackets went back to the play a couple of times to set up a lethal blow.
Jones picked his spot with three minutes left in the third quarter on the first play after a penalty granted Starkville a fourth-down conversion. Dreke Clark flared from the backfield for a swing screen with two wide receivers set up as lead blockers. Rufus Harvey was on the outside, but it was a decoy.
When the safety came up on Clark’s screen, Harvey darted past him for the corner of the end zone. Quarterback Luke Altmyer then floated the ball to the boundary to help push the margin back to two scores.
“This is what it’s going to take this time of year. There’s a whole bunch of film out there, so everybody knows what we’re doing,” Jones said. “We have to keep putting it out there. It’s about breaking tendencies, and we have guys that can do it.”
The touchdown looked like the final blow until a Warren Central field goal made it an 11-point game with seven minutes to play. After Starkville’s drive stalled, safety Khiry Gee’s interception gave the ball back to the Yellow Jackets.
“I knew the play. I knew what was coming,” Gee said. “I saw him pump fake and come out, so I knew he was going to throw it. I got to make the play.”
A Garin Boniol field goal and Clark’s 55-yard insurance touchdown run showed again Starkville can rise to the occasion.
At this point, the Yellow Jackets know they have no other choice.
“Coach says to visualize yourself making plays, and that’s what we do,” Gee said.
In the first half, a light rain started minutes before the game and remained steady throughout the first half. Five of the final seven plays on Starkville’s first scoring drive, a 13-play march, were runs.
“I’m glad we have a good offensive line. We have two good backs that don’t mind banging a little bit, so why not hand it off to them?” Jones said.
Keyshawn Lawrence’s interception return for a touchdown gave Starkville a 14-7 lead before a punishing seven-play drive added another score. The Yellow Jackets ran for 58 yards on that drive, 11 of them coming from Clark in the Wildcat.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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