An all-around exciting day of football on Friday highlighted the beginning of football season for many area teams, which battled, sprinted and shook off tackles for early season wins. Two of those teams, however, were each led by one player whose on-the-field excellence helped carry them to victory.
Starkville quarterback Kingston Johnson had a record-setting debut for the Yellow Jackets in their last-second 57-54 win over Oak Grove, and Columbus Christian Academy’s Matthew Benge carried the rock and the Rams into a 54-34 win at Benton Academy. For their respective performances, Benge and Johnson have been named The Dispatch’s Co-Players of the Week.
Johnson, a junior dual-threat signal caller, went 23-of-37 through the air to set a new Yellow Jacket passing record of 487 yards with four scores to help lead Starkville over the Warriors. Showcasing his shiftiness, he also scrambled for 92 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. With Johnson at the helm, Starkville’s offense generated an astounding 708 yards of offense and averaged 8.7 yards a play. He provided the spark for explosive plays and lobbed a 37-yard scoring pass to Davis Harrelson, a 41-yard bomb to Philip Swann, a 70-yard heave to A’brylen Jenkins and another 31-yard strike to Agnew. His two scoring rushes were from 57 yards and five yards out – the last of which pulled the Yellow Jackets ahead 51-46 for a brief moment early in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 54-51 with under two minutes to play, Johnson led Starkville down the field in 11 plays to set up Torien Knox’s game-winning 1-yard carry into the endzone.
Benge runs wild over the Raiders
Against Benton Academy, the Rams’ senior man under center showcased his wheels in head coach Marcus Davidson’s triple-option offense by running for 380 yards and six touchdowns on 20 carries to help CCA cruise to victory. He broke off scoring scrambles of 80, 70 and 62 yards and punched in two 2-point conversions as well.
Benge also went 3-of-4 in passing, which includes two touchdown throws to tight end David Easterling. He plays at corner on defense and is on the field for kickoff and kick return, and chipped in 10 tackles on defense.
Davidson called Benge’s performance “incredible,” and is a testament to his stamina.
“All my kids are playing both ways, so when you’re sitting there running that much – people don’t understand when I say ‘iron-man football, we’re playing ‘iron-man football.’”
Honorable mentions
Starkville running back Knox had 25 carries for 137 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score. He averaged 5.5 yards a carry for the Yellow Jackets to begin the season. Jenkins caught six passes from Johnson for 134 yards and a score to lead all eight of Starkville pass catchers who were targeted on Friday.
Noxubee County running back Laderoun Mosely thundered for 215 yards and four scores on 20 carries to help the Tigers defeat Heidelberg 29-22 in a comeback effort. The senior rusher averaged 10.8 yards a carry. The Tigers’ Donovan Connor led Noxubee on defense with 10 tackles, including seven solo stops and two sacks.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
