STARKVILLE — Ever since Starkville became the first No. 4 seed in Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A history to win a state title, a target has been on its back.
Moving up to 7A school after MHSAA reclassification before this season, that target remained as the Yellow Jackets were still the reigning state champions.
Now having made a second-straight state title game, the first Class 7A title game in state history, Starkville has met all expectations set forth before the season except one.
On Saturday night, the Jackets will look to accomplish that final one: Winning a ring.
“Anytime you can get to what you set out to do from day one, which was to win a state championship, it’s always perfect,” head coach Chris Jones said. “That’s what all this hard work is about. Now, we’re one step away from accomplishing our goals.”
There’s certainly been bumps along the way for the Jackets (10-3), from a stunning late home loss against Louisville to two district losses, one of them coming against Germantown.
That final district loss, however, simmered most for Starkville, a 36-6 beatdown at the hands of Tupelo on the Golden Wave’s blue turf just before playoffs began.
Jones spoke before the postseason about that loss coming at the right time, a game to learn from if the Jackets wanted to pull off a deep playoff run, and those lessons were learned quickly.
“Fingers could have easily been pointed and things could have gone in the wrong direction, but we went in the right direction as far as getting things fixed and doing whatever it took to get better from week-to-week,” Jones said. “At the end of the day, we understand that it’s a journey. The goal wasn’t to be undefeated; it was to win a championship.”
Starkville has a fantastic shot at accomplishing that, but standing in its way on Saturday is a high-octane Oak Grove team with one of the best quarterbacks in the state, in Texas A&M commit AJ Maddox.
Since losing to Brandon in district play, the Warriors (12-1) have rattled off six-straight wins en route to a South State title, including getting revenge on the Bulldogs in last week’s semifinal game.
A wild 49-45 shootout propelled Oak Grove back to the state title game, and what a better time for both programs to face each other off for the first time than to play for hardware.
“I feel like those new guys who haven’t been here before are confident enough,” senior linebacker Jermar McCarter said. “… We just have to make sure we communicate and get lined up.”
Against one of the best offenses in the state, Starkville has to be on its A-game defensively to give itself a chance to separate if the offense can get things going like it has this postseason.
The trials and tribulations of a football season can wear down on a team, but the Jackets have remained united in their quest for an eighth state title in school history and the first 7A title for the Magnolia State.
“We know it’s a championship game, but we don’t want to be tight or tense about the situation,” Jones said. “We just have to play our brand of football, don’t make it bigger than what it is. … We set out to do what we talked about, so now, we just have to finish and capitalize off this opportunity.”
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