Postseason rematches are a way of life for teams in Region 2-7A.
Two years ago, when it was 2-6A, Tupelo faced both Madison Central and Starkville in the playoffs after beating both in the regular season. Tupelo lost to Starkville in the North half final that year, and the Golden Wave were eliminated in the second round last season in a rematch with Madison Central after beating the Jaguars earlier in the season.
Thus, Tupelo (11-0) facing Starkville (7-4) tonight in the second round after beating the Yellow Jackets 29-14 on the road two weeks ago is nothing new. This time around, the Golden Wave are hoping for a happier ending.
“It’s going to be a lot tougher than the first time, it’s hard to beat a team twice,” Tupelo head coach Ty Hardin said. “We’ve been in this moment, third year in a row now. Chris Jones is one of the best coaches in the state of Mississippi, and he’s good at scheming up. We know it’s going to be a dogfight. It’s a rivalry game, it’s probably one of the best games in the state.”
Tupelo will look to get off to a faster start this time around. The Golden Wave trailed 8-7 at halftime against Starkville before dominating the second half. Hardin wants a better effort in Friday’s rematch.
Tupelo will at least have the perk of home-field advantage and not have to worry about travel.
“We didn’t play well the first time we played,” Hardin said. “Starkville played harder than us. We did a bad job subbing and tackling on defense. We weren’t prepared for tempo – we’ll be prepared for tempo this time. We weren’t prepared for the fronts that they gave us when we were on offense, so we feel like we’ve got a better plan this time, but we know they’re going to have a better plan, too.”
Tupelo will also look to get running back J.J. Hill, Class 7A’s Mr. Football, going more. Hill had 97 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries in the first matchup, although about half of Hill’s yardage came on a 48-yard touchdown run.
“We have to do a better job up front blocking,” Hardin said. “Be prepared for what they give us. I don’t think we were prepared for what they gave us last time, and I think just be more prepared this time around.”
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