Starkville Academy has found its groove early on this season, making light work of Leake Academy last Friday to improve to 3-1 on the season.
After two straight road games, the Volunteers return home to Starkville to play French Camp Academy, a team Starkville Academy has fared incredibly well against overall.
“We’re working on getting better,” Starkville Academy head coach Chase Nicholson said. “That’s the main thing. We’re working on making sure that we’re staying focused on what we’re supposed to be doing.”
Last year, the Volunteers took care of business against the Panthers (0-2), winning 28-7 and based on how this team has played in 2022, they’re confident that they can replicate that scoreline.
The defense has carried Starkville Academy so far, allowing just 16.5 points per game to opponents through four games. On the offensive side of the ball, the Volunteers have scored 28 points a game, including 35 or more points in its last two games.
If Starkville Academy wants to continue on this recent run of good form, the Vols will need to keep scoring and hold a French Camp team that’s scored just 20 points a game in its first two games to that or less.
Washington Academy (1-2) at Heritage Academy (2-1)
Week 2 was a humbling experience for Heritage Academy coming off the backs of an emphatic season-opening victory against Lamar.
Last Friday, the Patriots returned back to top form, blowing out East Union, 42-12, and that momentum on the back of Friday’s win is something that Heritage looks to bounce off of this week as the Pats play Washington Academy.
“Getting back on the winning side, you gain some confidence, and that creates some momentum,” Heritage Academy head coach Lance Pogue said. “I was proud to see that and you just got a bit more excitement in the air when it comes to practice, so that’s been a good feeling.”
Heritage has scored 40 or more points in each of its two wins this season, and in recent history, they’ve been able to pile on points against Washington, having won their last actual game 35-6 in 2020 as last year’s game was forfeited by Washington due to COVID-19.
Even with the seven points scored against Jackson Prep, Heritage is still averaging just over 31 points per game as an offense this season.
Olive Branch (2-0) at Starkville (2-0)
Starkville had arguably the most impressive performance of the season of any team in the Golden Triangle, demolishing West Point, 44-13, on Friday night.
Everything was going right for the Yellow Jackets, with quarterback Trey Petty throwing for over 300 yards and four touchdowns, as well as great performances from the defense and run game.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for Starkville this week in the battle of unbeatens as the Jackets take on a 2-0 Olive Branch program that won its last game, 37-0.
“We play hard. We compete at a high level,” Starkville head coach Chris Jones said. “We make mistakes, but that’s all part of it. When you’re busting your butts and playing hard, you always have a chance to win.”
Winning will start at quarterback for Starkville as Petty has already shown this season the sheer amount of talent he has under center.
With a great leader at the forefront, that makes the entire operation much easier for the Yellow Jackets, but beating Olive Branch is no easy task.
Starkville has won three straight meetings against the Conquistadors and will look to make it four on Friday.
Holly Springs (0-2) at Caledonia (0-2)
Last Friday night was a rough one for Caledonia against Amory as the Cavaliers were shut out in Amory, 35-0.
After how promising the start of the season looked for the majority of the game against New Hope, Caledonia sits at 0-2 looking to finally get that elusive first win against Holly Springs at home.
“I’m hoping our kids can bring some more energy than what we’ve had the last couple of weeks,” Caledonia head coach Michael Kelly said. “We’re playing our first home game. Playing in front of that home crowd, we just need to play well. We need to execute and do everything in our power to get our first win.”
That first win might very well be in the cards as Holly Springs has struggled as a defense through its first two games, giving up 105 total points, or an average of 52.5 points allowed per game.
On offense, they’ve scored six points in each game and haven’t been able to establish anything on the offensive side of the ball. That very much follows the theme of last season, when the Hawks averaged just 8.4 points per game, including a 53-6 loss at the hands of Caledonia.
Recent history favors the Cavaliers, so Friday will be their test to see if they can execute and come through.
Tupelo Christian Prep (0-2) at West Lowndes (1-1), Thursday
What a big win West Lowndes secured a big win last Friday: its first victory of the season against a very impressive team in Okolona.
Now, the Panthers, who are 1-1 on the year, have a bit of a unique situation on their hands this week as the weather has moved their Friday night game a day earlier to Thursday.
Despite the date change, this week has been a successful one on the practice field to prepare for a team that this program hasn’t beaten ever.
“Going into the game, we want to be physical,” West Lowndes head coach Anthony King said. “We want to go into tomorrow night with that mentality, playing physical and playing fast.”
That’s going to come in handy, as last season, the Panthers lost a one-score game to the Eagles, 24-22, the closest of the three games that the programs have played.
It was also the first time that West Lowndes scored in double digits against TCPS, but looking at how they responded against Okolona, the Panthers are coming into Thursday’s game as confident as ever.
Columbus (0-2) at Louisville (2-0)
Losing a starting quarterback can be tough for any program, but for Columbus, losing one at the beginning of a season is that much more difficult as the season progresses.
The Falcons haven’t yet put points on the board in 2022, having been shut out in both games they’ve played thus far, and standing in their way this week is a Louisville team that defeated West Point earlier in its season opener and is 2-0 on the season.
“These past few weeks, we’ve been working on cleaning ourselves up and being the best team that we can be, not worrying about anybody else,” Columbus head coach Joshua Pulphus said.
Columbus has been doing its best to focus on that part of things, worrying about the now and trying to improve within the program, but the Falcons’ schedule does them no favors to get some positive momentum moving forward.
Louisville has impressed thus far and is returning home for its home opener after a 54-0 shutout victory at Kemper County, so the Wildcats will be feeding off the home atmosphere a lot.
The Falcons, if they want to have a chance on Friday, need to silence the crowd early and play to its strengths to make it a game.
Canton Academy (4-0) at Oak Hill Academy (1-2)
The Oak Hill Academy-Canton Academy rivalry has taken a turn in recent years. While the Raiders won their first four straight matchups against the Panthers, the Panthers have won five of the last six.
That includes last season’s 62-27 blowout victory, an impressive one for Canton Academy, which went on to have a 10-3 record, reaching the championship game.
Those 62 points were also a program record and something that Oak Hill head coach Bill Rosenthal is looking to quickly erase in 2022.
“We just sat down and had a long talk about the things you can and can’t do as a football team,” Rosenthal said. “You can’t turn it over, and you can’t have penalties. We just can’t have those kinds of things happen.”
Those kinds of mistakes will get illuminated that much more against tough opposition like Canton Academy, so the biggest keys to success for the Raiders will be to secure the football and make smart plays on the field, knowing where players are and knowing what to do at what times.
Other games
Thursday
7 p.m.: Columbus Christian at Kemper Academy
Friday
7 p.m.: Calhoun Academy at Hebron Christian
7 p.m.: Victory Christian Academy at Russell Christian Academy
7 p.m.: Pickens Academy (Ala.) at Patrician Academy (Ala.)
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You can help your community
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 43 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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