STARKVILLE — The Winston Academy football team fell on a very bad place on Starkville Academy’s schedule this season.
Winston Academy came to town one week before Starkville Academy’s huge showdown against East Rankin Academy for the district championship. The Volunteers also had to battle past the distractions of Homecoming week.
But Starkville Academy cast aside the off-the-field festivities and proved it was up to multi-tasking Friday night in a 41-7 rout in a non-district tuneup before an overflow crowd at J.E. Logan Field.
“It was very difficult to be focused this week,” Starkville Academy senior wide receiver/free safety Austin Miles said. “Next week is a big district game, and we are so ready to get it going. Sometimes you want to skip the little games. No offense to Winston Academy because they have a great team. But next week is our season.”
Starkville Academy will travel to East Rankin Academy Friday night. The winner will earn the top seed from the south in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Division II playoffs. The top seed will play host to a first-round playoff game Nov. 3.
“For any set of coaches or any group of players, this is why you play the game,” Starkville Academy coach Jeff Terrill said. “You lift all the weights and you do all the conditioning drills to play for your district championship. Honestly as a coach, you are worried that your team is looking ahead.
“However, I saw something different from my team this week. We may have had our best week of practice this past week. I felt like we were going to come out and give a tremendous effort. We had a few breakdowns, but, for the most part, we played really well.”
The Volunteers (5-4) have been up and down this season. Never winning or losing more than two games in a row, Starkville Academy knew the final three games could serve as a turning point and could also help it return to the state championship game for a second straight year.
“After the loss to Parklane Academy (a 35-12 decision), everybody agreed our focus and mind-set was not where it needed to be,” Starkville Academy senior running back/strong safety Zach Slaughter said. “We didn’t have the intensity we needed to win a game like that. This whole week was spent on focus. This whole week was spent on attitude. We really came out ready and it showed.”
Starkville Academy had near-perfect attention to detail. The Volunteers scored on seven of eight possessions, forced three turnovers, and didn’t commit a penalty.
“Other than one play (a 76-yard touchdown run by Orien Dailey), we played great on defense,” Terrill said. “Other than one play, we played great on special teams (a 97-yard kickoff return by Taylor Moody that was brought back halfway by a block in the back). Offensively, we came out on a strong note and put the game away early. That is what you like to see as a coach.”
Starkville Academy attacked from the opening kickoff. The Volunteers took their first possession 65 yards on eight plays. Drew Pellum and Colby Runnels alternated the carries, with Pellum scoring from 1 yard.
Starkville Academy’s march lasted 10 plays and covered 54 yards. Sophomore Joel Ray saw two carries on that drive, including an 11-yard touchdown rush.
The Volunteers stretched the lead with back-to-back field goals by Johnathon Burton.
Winston Academy (3-5) answered with Dailey’s mad dash around left end.
As quickly as the Patriots were in the game, they fell back out. Two players later, Pellum hit Miles for a 53-yard touchdown pass to push Starkville Academy’s halftime advantage to 27-7.
“We have several sophomores on the offensive line,” Miles said. “It took them a little while to get going. We are beginning to find our stride on offense. I think good things are going to come.”
In a briskly played second half, the hosts tacked on a 7-yard scoring run by Pellum and a 20-yard scoring run by Runnels.
“We had a great first half,” Slaughter said. “In the second half, we wanted to keep executing and put some more points on the board. It is very important to have momentum going into next week because that game is our season.”
Starkville Academy finished with 333 yards of offense. Runnels ran 17 times for 143 yards, while Pellum ran 14 times for 64 yards. The takeaways included a fumble recoveries by Runnels, Hunter Peeples, and Drew Harrell.
As the team huddled for a postgame prayer, Terrill congratulated his players on another victory and cautioned them to be careful as they ventured off for Homecoming postgame activities.
“We have had some ups and downs, but I am proud of this football team,” Terrill said. “Next week is the biggest game of the year. I look forward to seeing our kids work next week to get ready. I look forward to going over there and seeing us compete. Everybody knows what is at stake. This is why you are here.”
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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