The primetime Friday night matchups continue for Starkville Academy, and this one should be an exciting one.

After an undefeated Volunteers team fell to Hartfield Academy several weeks ago, the Vols have a golden opportunity this week to notch a signature win against a high-powered Jackson Academy team looking to start a win streak.

Starkville Academy is there to make sure that doesn’t happen.

“The bye week was big,” Starkville Academy head coach Chase Nicholson said. “It gave us a chance to rest and we got to work on a few things, but we didn’t try to overcoach. We tried to work on ourselves. We have to be better at being us.”

The Vols (6-1) have been themselves and then some this season, rising to the occasion against strong opponents and being one of the more physical Midsouth Association of Independent Schools teams in 5A.

Starkville Academy came close against Jackson Academy last season, a 17-14 overtime loss at home, but now, the Vols travel to The Brickyard, looking for just their second-ever win against the Raiders (5-2).

“We have to go out and compete,” Nicholson said. “We have to go out and play hard. We know they’re going to show up and play a good football game, so we have to execute at a high level and compete at a high level.”

Starkville (5-1) at Germantown (3-3), 7 p.m.

Starkville has done plenty to prepare itself for district play this season.

The Yellow Jackets arguably had one of the toughest non-district schedules in Mississippi, facing teams like West Point, Louisville and Noxubee County.

Starkville has been battle-tested, but now, the real challenge of the season begins with district play and a road matchup against Germantown on Friday night.

“We want to start out with a win,” Starkville head coach Chris Jones said. “We know how important district play is. We have a lot of good teams in this district and we’re just trying to compete at a high level Friday.”

The Jackets have had the Mavericks’ number in four all-time matchups, most recently last season, where Starkville dismantled Germantown, 46-14.

That high-powered Starkville offense is back in full force this season, scoring 30 or more points in five of six games so far, including three 40-plus-point performances.

Starkville is ready to stake its claim for a district title already, and that starts Friday.

“We’re excited,” Jones said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge. We’re all about competing. We’ve had to compete and battle up until this point. Everything we do prior is about building and getting better.”

Noxubee County (3-3) at Kemper County (4-2), 7 p.m.

It’s not surprising that the best teams in the region have scheduled the toughest schedules, and Noxubee County is no different.

The Tigers came out of non-district play well, a 3-3 record facing previous state champions and state finalists in games that came down to the wire.

Now, it’s time for district play and Noxubee will have just four games there to secure itself a spot in the playoffs.

“The kids are excited about this part of the season,” Noxubee County head coach Teddy Young said. “We know what time of the year it is now.” 

Young and the Tigers are a battle-tested bunch, and this season has gone well, not just in being competitive against the best, but in staying healthy. 

Last season, Noxubee not having quarterback Kamario Taylor under center for a good portion of the season slowed things down, but with players like him healthy, the sky’s the limit. 

Up first is a strong Kemper County team that will undoubtedly present a tough road environment on Friday night.

“We know that to be where we want to be at the end of the year, we have to step our game up another level,” Young said. “… It’s just little things we have to fix. That’s the main thing we’re focusing on.”

Columbus (1-5) at Callaway (2-4), 7 p.m.

Columbus’s record isn’t a great indicator of how well the Falcons have played this season, as the team finally secured that elusive first win of the season last week.

A complete performance against New Hope was exactly what Columbus needed to close out non-district play as the schedule now shifts to district play on Friday night against Callaway.

“My leaders, they’re doing a good job of keeping the team together, rallying everyone, keeping them focused,” Columbus head coach Josh Pulphus said. “By them doing what they’re supposed to do, it makes my job a lot easier. Very proud of them, very proud of the morale.”

Morale is at an all-time high for the Falcons following Friday’s win, and despite a new classification and district this season, Columbus is a team that found itself one win away from a district title last season.

The stars aligned and week after week, the Falcons were racking up wins to secure a spot in the playoffs. They’ll look to do the same this season. 

“We have to make sure we control the ball,” Pulphus said. “We have to rely on our running game. … We can’t give up the explosive plays and we have to be able to contain their running game.”

Other games

Oak Hill Academy (3-4) at Kirk Academy (7-0), 7 p.m.

Columbus Christian Academy (0-7) at North Delta (4-3), 7 p.m.

Hebron Christian (1-5) at Lee Academy (Ark.) (5-1), 7 p.m.

Victory Christian (2-2) at Tabernacle (Ala.) (1-4), 7 p.m.

Lamar County (Ala.) (6-0) at Aliceville (Ala.) (1-5), 7 p.m.

Pickens Academy (Ala.) (1-5) at Escambia Academy (Ala.) (2-4), 7 p.m.