STARKVILLE — Chris Jones may not have been happy with his team’s performance Friday night, but a win is a win.
Behind three first-half touchdown passes from senior quarterback Jaylen Ruffin, Starkville remained unbeaten with a 28-15 victory over Meridian in which the Yellow Jackets were hardly perfect, but the outcome never felt in doubt.
“I thought we played sloppy, just being honest,” Starkville’s head coach said. “We didn’t play well. We have to get better, a lot better.”
The sloppiness started on the Yellow Jackets’ first drive of the game. After Starkville (3-0) picked up one first down, running back Abrayln Jenkins lost a combined 15 yards on back-to-back plays as the hosts were forced to punt. The Yellow Jackets’ offensive line remained porous early in their next possession before Ruffin had enough protection to fire a 59-yard touchdown pass to Davarrious Hairiston that opened the scoring.
Ruffin placed the ball perfectly over two defenders, where a streaking Hairiston hauled in the pass in stride and took it in.
“He put it right where I wanted it,” Hairiston said. “We work on it every day in practice. I love my quarterback.”
Starkville forced punts the first two times its defense was on the field but could not get anything going offensively on its next drive, only to catch a massive break when the Wildcats (1-2) muffed a punt that the Yellow Jackets recovered at Meridian’s 28-yard line. Ruffin was pinpoint with his next pass, a deep ball in the left corner of the end zone to A’Ravion Moore-Gladney that gave Starkville a 14-0 lead.
The Yellow Jackets went further in front just before halftime. On a third-and-14 from Starkville’s own 36, Ruffin uncorked a beautiful deep ball to Jenkins for a 49-yard pickup, then went to Hairiston again on the next play, with the wide receiver making the catch despite tight coverage for his second touchdown of the night.
“It’s simple. Do your job and play the game the right way,” Jones said. “Do what you’re coached to do, stop trying to do your own thing, trust what we’ve been working on and trust your training.”
Meridian threw the first punch in the second half, driving right down the field and getting on the board on a well-designed quarterback keeper by Corey McCann. Starkville then handed the Wildcats a gift when a Ruffin interception gave Meridian the ball already in the red zone, but after the visitors converted one fourth down, the Yellow Jackets made a goal line stand when Jayden Johnson was stopped inches from the end zone on fourth-and-goal.
Starkville proceeded to drive 99 yards for the touchdown that all but put the game away. A 25-yard run by Jenkins brought the ball across midfield, and a pair of completions from Ruffin to Isaiah Witherspoon — one of which came on fourth down — put the Yellow Jackets on the doorstep. Jenkins paid it off with his fifth rushing touchdown of the season.
Meridian went three-and-out on its next possession and turned the ball over on downs on the drive after that before managing a consolation touchdown in the closing seconds on a short pass from McCann to Jaquan Grant. That was as close as the Wildcats would get as they failed to recover their ensuing onside kick.
Starkville heads to Louisville next week for a battle of undefeated teams. Louisville has won 29 straight games, with its last loss coming against the Yellow Jackets — a 21-20 squeaker in 2022.
“The defense played well at times,” Jones said. “Offensively, we didn’t play well. At the end of the day, we must improve, and it has to happen fast.”
Starkville 28, Meridian 15
Meridian 0 0 7 8 — 15
Starkville 14 7 0 7 — 28
First quarter
S — Davarrious Hairiston 59 pass from Jaylen Ruffin (Jacori Gallegos kick), clock 4:28
S — A’Ravion Moore-Gladney 28 pass from Ruffin (Gallegos kick), clock 1:16
Second quarter
S — Hairiston 15 pass from Ruffin (Gallegos kick), clock 0:42
Third quarter
M — Corey McCann 3 run (Diego Reyes kick), clock 9:27
Fourth quarter
S — Abrayln Jenkins 2 run (Gallegos kick), clock 11:56
M — Jaquan Grant 2 pass from McCann (Jarmarik Leggette pass from McCann), clock 0:10
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 38 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.