There’s a lot to play for today when Starkville Academy and Heritage Academy clash at 7 p.m. in Starkville.

There’s playoff seeding implications on the line with power points up for grabs in the District 2-4A contest, and there’s an opportunity for the Patriots (6-2, 1-1) to snap a one-game skid and for the Volunteers (6-2, 2-0) to grab back-to-back wins for the second time this season.

There’s also just plain old pride and bragging rights at stake when the lights come on for the 60th match between the two bitter rivals. Both sides know what’s included when they line up on the gridiron for kickoff, and SA head coach Chase Nicholson said that’s what makes this particular annual matchup exciting. 

“We see it on Monday nights, on Saturdays in whatever sport it is, in rivalry games nothing else matters. The records don’t matter, nothing else matters and that makes you play that much harder,” Nicholson said. “Obviously when it does have extra bearings on it, like in our case, a district game, that can help position us in the playoffs differently and help position them in the playoffs differently. So, it’s got a lot more than just the rivalry behind it, so anytime you get that you are going to be excited to play. Our guys are excited about a district game against Heritage at home. There’s so much good stuff about it. … They’ve had a great week of practice and (are) just looking forward to the opportunity.”

For Heritage, the game brings a chance to snap two losing streaks. Last week the Patriots were held to their fewest scored points all season in a 49-21 district defeat by Hartfield Academy, the reigning back-to-back Class 5A champions. The team also is looking for its first win over the Volunteers since 2022. Heritage head coach Tobias Smith said those two factors are not driving forces behind their excitement for today’s game. 

“I thought we did some good stuff, even with the loss,” Smith said. “We played a really good team. I’m never happy with a loss but I’m not mad at how we played. We did some good stuff, but there is some stuff we have to clean up this year. I don’t think there’s any extra motivation because we lost (last) Friday. The motivation is coming from us. This is a big game (today), really because of what we’ve done this season so far and the guys understand how important these games are, and they want to go out and win it. That’s where the motivation comes from.”

The Volunteers are coming off a 28-20 victory over Lamar School last week in which they had to hold off a late charge. The Raiders ran in a 4-yard touchdown run to make it a one-score game with 2:41 left to play, but the Volunteers were able to hold on until the clock hit zero. Quarterback Jack Northcutt ran in a touchdown run of 8 yards and Bristo Santucci returned an interception 15 yards for a defense score to give Starkville Academy a 14-6 lead in the third quarter before the Raiders tied the game on a 17-yard run and a 2-point conversion run. Northcutt threw touchdown passes of 25 and 31 yards to Jackson Knight to give his team the lead for good. 

“It was a great win, obviously a district win. Our guys played really hard, so I think they walked into the week understanding what momentum is and (that we) have a little momentum on our side,” Nicholson said. “But they also knew what it took to win that game, so hopefully we can repeat that.”  

Part of the challenge for the Vols is slowing down the Patriots’ backfield of quarterback Joshua Tate and running back Tyler King. The ground attack with the two speedsters are part of the reason why the team averages 33 points per game, but Tate also offers the ability to throw the ball with success as well, with aerial connections to wide receiver Xzavier Webber a common sight. 

“We’re going to have to play physical football, come after them every single play,” Nicholson said. “We’re going to have to play hard, be aggressive and play with relentless effort every single snap. We’re going to have to make plays and make turnovers. If we win the turnover battle you can feel good about winning. But when we do get turnover we have to do something with it. We have to create big plays and take the momentum.”    

There’s a lot of new Patriots who have been pacing Heritage’s sideline this season and many of them have been making an immediate impact on the field. Smith said they’ve all been able to jell really well together and the impact of that can be seen on the field. 

“Just the overall camaraderie of the team, and just the cohesion of the guys is growing,” Smith said. “We had a bunch of guys coming in from different places, so just to see them get the feel for one another and see them learn (about) one another and what they like to do and how they like to do it and just hanging out with one another. You can see the growth and maturation of our team just daily.” 

Defensively, the Patriots will have to slow down the Volunteers’ offense, which only averages 21 points per game, but makes up for it in its brand of play. Northcutt and running back Miller Shy have been strong performers on the ground for SA but the team has also found some streaks of success in the passing game.

“They like to run the ball and play physically,” he said. “Here in the last couple of weeks they have been throwing the ball more. They have a couple of guys who can make plays, but so do we. … We just have to be lined up and have good eyes and be technique-sound and we’ll be good.”

Starkville Academy sits just behind Hartfield Academy in the district’s power point standings with 42.143, and Heritage is fourth with 40.857. With the playoffs looming ever closer as the regular season winds to a close, each team is solely focused on climbing higher in the seedings, whether it’s a rivalry game or not.

“They’ve put (the Lamar win) behind them like we’ve asked them to, and they’re focused on Heritage this week.” Nicholson said of his team. “They’re not still worried about Lamar, that’s in the past. I think one of our coaches said, ‘It is a memory now,’ and it is a memory because we’re worried about the present right now. Let’s just keep making memories, but let’s just focus on where we are right now.”