STARKVILLE — Starkville High School senior defensive lineman Derion Ford and senior running back Matt Fuller shared a postgame hug at Yellow Jacket Stadium.
Both had dazed looks on their faces. The look of disbelief was everywhere. Almost every Friday night had ended with similar expressions on the turf at Starkville High.
However, that look previously had been reserved for the visiting team.
No. 2 South Panola scored 36 second-half points and pulled off a shocker Friday night, defeating No. 1 Starkville 36-26 to win the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A North State championship.
South Panola (14-0) will face Oak Grove (14-1) next week for the Class 6A state championship at Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium.
For Starkville, the quest for a 12th undefeated season in program history ends two games shy at 13-1.
“I’m not totally sure what happened,” Starkville senior linebacker Alonzo Flowers said. “In the second half, we didn’t cover our assignments. We let our guard down and it hurt us. That was totally unexpected. We went out without playing our best.”
In typical fashion, Starkville built a 13-0 halftime lead. The Yellow Jackets were helped to that standing, including a scenario in which an open South Panola wide receiver dropped a sure touchdown pass.
The Yellow Jackets also had their brilliant moments on defense, including a sack by Ford on third down, a tackle for loss by Maleke Bell on fourth down in Starkville territory, and a fourth-down stop by Flowers on fourth down.
In the second half, South Panola scored on its first two possessions and the slow decline began. After South Panola closed within 13-7, Starkville appeared poised to re-take control after a personal foul on a short kickoff set Starkville up on the South Panola 48-yard line.
Two plays later, South Panola’s Drelan Porter had a fumble recovery. The Tigers took the theft 57 yards on five plays for the go-ahead score.
In a playoff win against Southaven, Starkville had three turnovers, but forced four. On Friday night, Starkville had three turnovers but forced none.
“Turnovers. It is as simple as that,” Starkville senior quarterback Brady Davis said. “You can’t make the mistakes we made and expect to win. It’s hard to explain what happened because earlier in the year we were so good at taking care of the ball. Late in the year, it got away from us. We had some false starts. We just couldn’t keep the momentum when we had the 13-0 lead.
“This really hurts because we know what type of team we had. We know how special this season could have been. We were right there, but we really hurt ourselves there in the second half.”
Still, Starkville battled back on top when Davis hit A.J. Brown on a 12-yard touchdown with 11 minutes, 49 seconds remaining. The try for two failed and Starkville held a 19-14 lead.
South Panola answered with a 10-play, 80-yard drive. The Tigers picked up 60 of those 80 yards through the air. Tyler Pogue hit Ephraim Kitchens for a 31-yard touchdown pass.
Pogue completed only two passes in a 9-7 playoff win against Clinton the week before. Against Starkville, Pogue was 14 of 22 for 222 yards and three touchdowns.
“They threw the ball much more than we expected,” Flowers said. “We weren’t ready for that, and we failed to make adjustments. We really thought we could stop the run and be in good shape. It’s hard to believe they threw the ball that well against us.”
The game’s biggest play then followed. As South Panola recovered a sky onside kick attempt. The Tigers failed to score on the extra possession, but an already fatigued Starkville defense was stretched further.
Starkville gave the ball right back after a punt, but Cole Rotenberry had the back-breaker as he raced 61 yards for a touchdown and a 10-point lead with 3:23 left.
“We may have had the best special teams unit in the state this year, but we weren’t very good in that area tonight,” Starkville coach Jamie Mitchell said. “We miss an extra point early, so then we are chasing that point the rest of the game. We fail to field a kickoff when we needed possession. We give up a punt return. Those plays hurt.
“The turnovers were obviously big. The special teams play is just as big. We didn’t play well enough to beat one of the best teams in the state. We are really good, but they are, too. If you play your best and lose that is one thing. It is hard to sleep at night when you go out simply not playing your best.”
Still, Starkville had one last chance. Davis capped his night by finding Raphael Leonard for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 2:15 left.
South Panola recovered Starkville’s onside kick. The Yellow Jackets burned two timeouts and were ready for the stop on third-and-8 at midfield. Instead, a halfback reverse led to Darrell Henderson hitting Rotenberry for a 45-yard touchdown.
“We weren’t ready for that play,” Flowers said. “It is heart breaking. We were ready all year until the second half of this game.”
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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