Starkville and Noxubee County both left Vaught-Hemingway Stadium proud of their 2023 seasons but unsatisfied with how they ended.
The Yellow Jackets fell to Oak Grove in the MHSAA Class 7A title game last December, and the Tigers lost to Winona in the Class 3A championship, both by one score. On Friday night in Macon, the two defending runners-up will go head-to-head in the season opener, with both rosters looking quite different than those that made the trip home from Oxford empty-handed.
The one constant for Noxubee County is quarterback Kamario Taylor, a senior committed to Mississippi State. Taylor is without many of his top pass-catchers from last fall, but Ladarion Mosely is back after reeling in 42 passes for 713 yards and 11 touchdowns a year ago. The Tigers also have an experienced offensive line that should provide good protection for Taylor and whoever else is carrying the ball.
“(They’re a) really good team,” Starkville head coach Chris Jones said. “Good program, good coach, good players. We have to try and eliminate big plays. If we can force a few takeaways and try and get to (Taylor), we can’t let him get comfortable. He’s really good, one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. We have our hands full, but we have a good game plan. The kids are excited to compete against a team like Noxubee and against a quarterback like him.”
The Yellow Jackets are breaking in a new starting quarterback with Trey Petty now at Illinois and his top target, Braylon “Stonka” Burnside, now at MSU. Senior Jaylen Ruffin is Starkville’s new starter behind center, a starting defensive back last year who backed up Petty the last two seasons.
“We have a really good group of kids collectively,” Jones said. “(Ruffin) has played (quarterback) before. He started last year on defense, so this won’t be his first time playing. He’s one of the best out there right now, and the team believes in him. Looking forward to him going out there, and now it’s his time in the driver’s seat.”
Tasked with slowing down Ruffin will be a Tigers defense that has both youth and experience. E’Kamryn Smith is moving from linebacker to safety this year after averaging more than 10 tackles per game last season. Derrick Grey is another strong returning defensive back, and linebacker BJ Payton had 10 sacks in 2023.
The Yellow Jackets blew out Noxubee County 49-18 in last year’s season opener in Starkville after falling behind 12-0 early. The Tigers scored a pair of long touchdowns in the first eight minutes before Starkville took control, using a kickoff return touchdown to flip the momentum and then outscoring Noxubee County 29-0 in the second quarter.
“It’s not hard game planning. They still have the same coaching staff,” Tigers head coach Teddy Young said. “They don’t have the same kids they had last year, but they still have a lot of talent.”
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