STARKVILLE — All good things must come to an end, and on Friday night, one of those things did end for the Starkville High School football team.
It had been almost a decade since the Yellow Jackets lost a game at home, and that streak was snapped by Oxford by a score of 42-35.
Each team started well, playing solid offensive football with clock-milking scoring drives. But the problems for the Yellow Jackets began in the second quarter. On top of Starkville just not being able to muster a stop, some offensive mistakes did not help.
“We can’t make mistakes against good teams, you know they (Oxford) don’t need any help, they’re good enough,” Starkville coach Chris Jones said.
The Chargers showed just how “good enough” they were during the second quarter, when they pinned 20 unanswered points on the Yellow Jackets before half, including a 77-yard punt return by Roman Gregory and a 30-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
The Chargers had not scored a touchdown that was not from their offense before Friday, when they scored two in one quarter.
Sophomores wide receiver Braylon “Stonka” Burnside and quarterback Trey Petty seemed to make every play for the Yellowjackets after halftime, with Burnside totaling eight receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown and Petty throwing for 202 yards and a touchdown and rushing for a score and catching a pass for a third TD.
Petty recently visited Mississippi State on the weekend of the Alabama game, but the sophomores still have plenty of time to make a huge impact on the success of the Yellow Jackets in the coming years.
“He’s a fighter,” Jones said of Petty. “He’s a winner, and he competed to the end. I expect him to continue to get better, but sometimes it takes a loss … to set you where you need to be mentally.”
Starkville (8-1) and Oxford (6-3) sit tied with Madison Central (7-1 after a 31-0 win over Germantown on Friday night) atop the Class 6A, Region 2 standings with 4-1 region records. The Jackets are 1-1 against the other two, while Madison Central will travel to Oxford to end the regular season.
Starkville does not control its own destiny; if all three teams win next week, and Madison Central beats Oxford in the finale, the Yellow Jackets will win the region title because of their win over Madison Central. Should Oxford beat Madison Central, the Chargers would own the tiebreaker.
This Friday, Oxford will play Grenada (5-4, 1-4) while Madison Central will face Murrah (1-8). Jones, Petty, Burnside and the rest of the Yellowjackets will look to get back to their winning ways next week, when they face Germantown looking to start another home winning streak before playing at Grenada to close the regular season.
Oxford 42, Starkville 35
Oxford (6-3, 4-1 6A-2) 8 20 7 7 — 42
Starkville (8-1, 4-1 6A-2) 14 0 7 14 — 35
First quarter
O — Roman Gregory 2 run (Dane Harmon pass from Michael Harvey), 8:05
S — Jordan Mitchell 1 run (Josh Eaves kick), 3:03
S — Trey Petty 6 run (Eaves kick), :49
Second quarter
O — Roman Gregory 7 run (William Wilkinson kick), 9:41
O — Gregory 77 punt return (Wilkinson kick), 4:33
O — Dem Mitchell 30 fumble recovery (kick failed), :34
Third quarter
S — Petty 19 pass from Mitchell (Eaves kick), 4:58
O — Tracy Harris 12 run (Wilkinson kick), 4:00
Fourth quarter
S — Braylon Burnside 46 pass from Petty (Eaves kick), 3:49
S — Mitchell 7 run (Eaves kick), 2:52
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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 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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Starkville quarterback Trey Petty sneaks out of the backfield to catch a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Mitchell during the third quarter of Friday night's loss to Oxford in Starkville. Austin Frayser/Special to The Dispatch
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