The last time Starkville visited Louisville, the Yellow Jackets edged the Wildcats 21-20 to remain undefeated and hand Louisville its first loss.
That was on Sept. 16, 2022, and the Wildcats have not lost since.
Louisville ran through the rest of its schedule to win the MHSAA Class 4A state championship, then went a perfect 15-0 in 2023, including a 26-22 win in Starkville in which the Wildcats scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for the comeback victory. After edging West Point in its season opener, Louisville has blown out Neshoba Central and Columbus so far this year to extend its streak to 29 games.
The Yellow Jackets are also 3-0, with wins over Noxubee County, West Point and Meridian. Starkville fell in the Class 7A state title game last year, and heads back to Louisville on Friday night for a battle of unbeatens.
“We have to play good football,” Yellow Jackets head coach Chris Jones said. “Take care of the football on offense, tackle well on defense, win the battle at the line of scrimmage, be good on special teams. You can’t help a good team. Just do the stuff we practiced throughout the course of the week and execute on game day.”
Zaiden Jernigan leads the Wildcats’ deep running backs room, with 34 carries for 269 yards and three touchdowns. Xzarion Haynes has also run the ball well, taking some pressure off quarterback Xavier Hunt, who is just 24-of-45 for 258 yards and three touchdowns with four interceptions through three games. Hunt’s favorite target is Kameron Triplett, who has 16 catches for 187 yards and all three touchdowns.
Louisville’s defense has carried the Wildcats so far. TayQuon McKinney has stuffed the stat sheet with eight tackles for loss, four sacks, an interception and a pass breakup. Jayshaun Robbins and Corxavier Coleman are also game wreckers up front, with Khailin Macon the leader in the secondary.
Jones was unhappy with the way his team played in last week’s win over Meridian, but said his team has practiced much better this week.
“We probably didn’t have the best week of practice last week, and it showed up throughout the course of the game,” Jones said. “A lot of little things that we probably take for granted because we got a win, but it’s a whole bunch of stuff. If you don’t fix what you need to fix (against Louisville), they’ll take advantage of it. Every rep should be treated like a game rep.”
Starkville’s offense has been clicking with senior Jaylen Ruffin at quarterback — the first-year starter behind center is 30-of-56 for 488 yards, six touchdowns and just one interception. Ruffin is also a weapon with his legs, with 205 rushing yards on 10.3 yards per carry, while Abrayln Jenkins is the Yellow Jackets’ leading rusher. Davarrious Hairiston and Jaheim Deanes are big-play threats at wide receiver.
Shiloh Johnson and Zyahn Bradley have each registered two sacks, and Donnelvin Jordan and Zachariah Hill seem to always be around the ball. Tyson Knox and Hairiston are stalwarts in the back end for Starkville.
“We’ve done a better job as coaches and they’ve done a better job as players,” Jones said. “The team that has the least amount of mistakes, plays with great energy and great effort, the most physical team, is going to win this football game.”
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