The stakes could not be higher for Starkville Academy in Friday night’s regular-season finale against Magnolia Heights.
Win, and the Volunteers (4-5) are district champions. Lose, and they are in danger of missing the playoffs altogether.
“It’s a must-win,” Starkville Academy coach Chase Nicholson said. “If we win, we’re in. We know that. That’s our main focus, and we’ll let everybody else do their thing and see how it all shakes out in the end.”
All four of the Volunteers’ wins have come by one score. SA defeated Chambers Academy out of Alabama 35-31 on Aug. 23 and beat Carroll Academy 26-21 on Sept. 6. The Volunteers won 20-14 at Pillow Academy on Sept. 27 and are coming off a 30-27 road victory over rival Heritage Academy last week.
“No matter what happens, our guys just don’t panic,” Nicholson said. “I would love to win by more than one score. I would love to have nights where we score 30 points and the defense pitches a shutout. But they prepare you for big nights. They prepare you for big moments. And that’s what this has done. No matter if we’re up or down, our guys know we can come back. They know what it takes to win a football game. That’s great experience for us.”
The non-district schedule has challenged SA, which has lost lopsided games at Lamar, at Leake Academy, at Hartfield Academy and at home against Jackson Academy. The Volunteers’ only close loss came in the district opener, a 23-21 defeat at home against Bayou Academy.
“We’ve been battle tested,” Nicholson said. “We’ve gone through a lot of scenarios and a lot of difficult situations to prepare for district, to prepare for the playoffs. It’s worked out for us. Records don’t matter; what matters is what we have an opportunity to do Friday night, and that’s win a district championship.”
The Chiefs (8-2) are quite the obstacle standing in SA’s way. Magnolia Heights has won seven straight games and is undefeated in district play, surviving a close game at Heritage and then blowing out Pillow at home last week. The Volunteers won the district title last year, but the Chiefs were their toughest test — SA edged Magnolia Heights 12-10 on the road last fall.
“They’re a solid team, well coached,” Nicholson said. “They’ve always got talent, they’ve got size. They have a really talented quarterback, some really good skill guys. They’re a complete football team. Their record says a lot about how talented they really are. But a lot of stuff on the line; big night, home game, you never know. We have as good a shot to win as they do, and I look forward to a great football game.”
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