STARKVILLE — The Starkville Academy football team had the type of game Friday that shows if a team is playoff ready, if a team can land the last punch after trading punches all night long.
The Volunteers hadn’t had to win ugly this season. They’d dominated teams with a punishing ground game and entered their matchup against Parklane Academy averaging 35 points in six wins.
After repeatedly running into an active and stout defensive line and watching drives stall, Ryan Mann’s confidence never wavered. He knew his first quarter touchdown, the only one in the game, would be enough. Even after coming up short at the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal midway through the fourth quarter, Mann knew his team had plenty left in its punches.
Starkville Academy rebounded and shut down a late Parklane Academy drive and rode Mann’s game-high 92 yards for a 7-5 win at J.E. Logan Field.
Blowout wins in a resurgent season have become the norm, but Friday’s win was just as sweet, Mann said.
“You got to pull out games like this if you want to make it to the playoffs and win games in the playoffs,” Mann said. “You got to play like that.”
Starkville Academy stuck to its usual script of pounding the ball, no matter the down. Quarterback Drew Pellum was 2 of 5, but his decision-making in the option game helped the Volunteers move the ball against one of the better defenses in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools. Pellum had 79 yards on 16 carries.
“(Parklane) definitely did their job on shutting the fullback down,” Mann said, “but Drew did his job, got his pulls, and got his yards. That’s how this offense works. Drew did a heck of a job tonight.”
The Volunteers (7-1, 3-1) have clinched a playoff spot and sit atop Class AAA, Division 2. A meeting against East Rankin Academy on Oct. 21 likely will determine the division, but Friday’s win was a benchmark for Starkville Academy coach Jeff Terrill.
“We made this very public. We went down there last year and got beat 38-20,” Terrill said. “They are a Division I program, so we’re proud of that. It’s probably the first Division I win we’ve had in a while. When we got through (following last year’s loss), I said, ‘Guys, that’s what we want to be like. Those kids play hard, they don’t quit.’ Our kids took it to heart.”
Starkville Academy held Parklane (5-3, 1-2 Class AAA) to 92 rushing yards. Quarterback Brady Lea was 10 of 17 for 66 yards.
Parklane Academy got a lifeline when its defense stopped Mann on fourth-and-goal from the 1 in the fourth quarter. With less than five minutes left, Parklane picked up a first down and pushed the ball out to its 45. On third-and-5, Justin Brent was stopped 2 yards shy of a first down. The manageable fourth down was negated after left tackle Kaj Lemaire was flagged for a personal foul. Parklane Academy punted, and Starkville Academy ran down the clock.
Starkville Academy will play next week at Winston Academy.
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