TUPELO — When Starkville took a 20-0 lead against Tupelo in the second quarter of Friday night’s MHSAA Class 6A semifinal game, the Golden Wave looked massively out of sorts.

A team that had given up just 17 points at home the entire season managed to give up that in less than a half. But football is a game of momentum, and Tupelo quickly found that momentum before the half, scoring twice in the final five minutes.

That 20-0 lead was reduced to 20-13 at the half and 20-19 by the end of the third quarter. With  10:21 left in the fourth, Tupelo flipped the scoreboard, taking its first lead at 25-20 after a fourth straight touchdown

An additional three-and-out gave Tupelo the ball back to try to strike once more, inside their own 15-yard line. 

That’s when Starkville swung momentum back for good, getting an interception inside the 15 and a quick touchdown drive, one of three in the fourth quarter as the Yellow Jackets (11-3) secured a place in the Class 6A title game with a 41-32 win.

“It changed the game,” Starkville head coach Chris Jones said. “(Our defense) struggled because they’re good. Tupelo has a good offense. They can run the ball, throw the ball. They keep you off balance.

“We knew we had our work cut out, but we just tried to eliminate the big plays. We gave up some, but we found a way to get a big play. That was the biggest play of the night.”

Early on, it was the Trey Petty show for Starkville. The quarterback ran for two of the Yellow Jackets’ three touchdowns in the half. 

Of Starkville’s 230 total yards, a combined 139 of them came from Petty: 62 on the ground and 77 through the air.

He came out firing and Starkville, overall, caught the Golden Wave (13-1) off guard entirely and the points just kept piling on through the first quarter and a half of football in Tupelo.

“It means a lot, but honestly, we’re not the same team we were earlier in the season,” Petty said. “We were all banged up, hurting, and we’re just proving that right now that we’re still in it and we’re better than we were earlier this year.”

However, that momentum swing really switched things up and took the life out of Starkville up until that interception in the fourth.

A few big passing plays where the Golden Wave broke coverage resulted in two touchdown drives, the first one ending with a 59-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Jeremiah Harrell to KD Gibson.

The second one, a 75-yard passing play to JQ Witherspoon, set up touchdown drives on consecutive drives for the Golden Wave.

Quite literally, Starkville was just riding the wave, riding the storm out until it could find momentum going the other way.

“It’s been that kind of year,” Jones said. “We had some struggles. All that adversity we had, it built us up and prepared us for this moment … We did what we needed to do tonight.”

Once Starkville got that interception, things began rolling again, with Petty finding Braylon Burnside for a 10-yard touchdown reception as the Yellow Jackets retook the lead at 28-25 after a successful two-point conversion.

Tupelo threatened to retake the lead at 32-28, but Starkville answered again with Petty finding Jaylon York for a 35-yard touchdown reception, Petty’s second and final passing touchdown of the game.

He added on a fifth total touchdown for the icing on the cake with just over a minute left, a 38-yard rushing touchdown, extending the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 41-32 and sealing the deal, ending a five-year championship game drought for the program.

All eyes have now shifted to Hattiesburg next weekend as Starkville looks to break a seven-year state title drought against Brandon.

“I’m real excited,” Petty said. “Haven’t been since 2017, haven’t won since 2015, so we’re trying to make history right now.”

Starkville 41, Tupelo 32

Starkville (11-3) 6 13 0 21 — 41

Tupelo (13-1) 0 13 6 13 — 32

First quarter 

S — Trey Petty 1 run (Will Wells kick failed), clock 8:37

Second quarter

S — Petty 1 run (Wells kick), clock 11:55

S — JaQuavin Jenkins 15 run (Wells kick), clock 6:47

T — KD Gibson 59 pass from Jeremiah Harrell (kick failed), clock 5:05

T — Quay Middlebrooks 2 run (Deaton kick), clock 1:41

Third quarter

T — Gibson 40 pass from Harrell (kick failed), clock 7:10

Fourth quarter

T — Middlebrooks 33 run (Deaton kick), clock 10:21

S — Braylon Burnside 10 pass from Petty (Jaylon York pass from Petty), clock 8:50

T — Middlebrooks 2 run (Deaton kick), clock 6:35

S — York 35 pass from Petty (Wells kick), clock 4:16

S — Petty 38 run (Wells kick), clock 1:13