STARKVILLE — The Starkville Academy football team’s defense was tired Friday night.
As much as the Volunteers tried to slow down Leake Academy, the Rebels controlled the ball and moved up and down the field.
But Starkville Academy didn’t wilt in a pivotal game in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, District 2 standings. Each time the Volunteers tired, they regrouped and kept pushing forward.
“Just keep pushing. You’ve got to finish and you’ve got to do what you’re supposed to,” Starkville Academy defensive line coach Bubba Davis said of what the message was for the defense.
The Volunteers took that statement to heart and held the Rebels to two touchdowns in a 21-14 victory.
“We knew it was a fight and we couldn’t give in,” Starkville Academy junior defensive lineman Torrin Hamilton said. “We trusted our offense and if we shut them down, they’d come make a play after that.”
The Volunteers’ defense was stout in the first quarter, as the Rebels managed one first down on three possessions.
But Leake Academy held the ball for 6 minutes, 34 seconds near the end of the first quarter and drove into the red zone. On fourth-and-4 from the 5-yard line, the Rebels decided to go for it.
Quarterback Joshua Jones kept the snap and broke through the line, but senior defensive lineman Houston Massey met him and kept him from scoring.
“Every stop is big, but especially whenever they march down the whole field and we end up stopping them,” Starkville Academy junior defensive lineman Dillon Carrell said, “so it was definitely huge for us.”
Starkville Academy coach Chase Nicholson called the stand a big momentum swing. However, the Volunteers didn’t score again until the second half, but the stand gave the defense confidence and proved to be the difference.
The Rebels (5-3, 1-1) gained 372 yards of offense (246 passing and 126 rushing), but the Volunteers (7-1, 2-0) stood tough in the red zone.
Midway through the third quarter, Leake Academy was driving trailing 21-14. The Rebels made it all the way to the Volunteers’ 15-yard line, but Hamilton sacked Jones for a 12-yard loss. On the next play, Jones’ pass fell incomplete and the Rebels turned the ball over on downs.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Rebels faced a third-and-8 at the Volunteers’ 37. Jones dropped back to pass again, but Carrell sacked him. Colt Chrestman broke up Jones’ pass on fourth-and-13 from the 43 in the secondary.
“They whipped us for a while, but then when we had to, we played at a little bit of a different level and were able to keep them out several times,” Davis said.
Chrestman’s 9-yard touchdown on the Volunteers’ first possession made it 7-0 lead with 9:21 remaining in the first quarter. Chrestman hauled in a 22-yard pass from Houston Clark to help make it 14-0 later in the quarter.
But Leake Academy cut its deficit to eight before halftime with a 60-yard touchdown from Jones Keric Estep. Hamilton, who also plays on the offensive line, and his fellow teammates were tired at halftime.
“Our defense is our offense, so we’re out there playing the whole game,” Hamilton said.
The Rebels used a 5-yard touchdown run by Jones and a two-point conversion by Estep to tie it at 14.
The Volunteers took the lead for good when Grant Wolfe scored an 18-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter.
Starkville Academy used that as motivation on Leake Academy’s final three possessions.
“They found a few holes and came up with a few big catches, but our guys kept battling,” Nicholson said. “It was a great battle of coaches and players.”
Starkville Academy will return to action Friday at Pillow Academy.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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