STARKVILLE — From the day that Starkville won its seventh state championship leading up to the start of the 2023 season, the mindset was never to focus on the past.
Becoming the first four-seed in Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A playoff history to win a state title was definitely something, but head coach Chris Jones and the Yellow Jackets have been focused on the task at hand this season.
That task was simple: Repeat the feat.
“I think they’re excited for a chance to play for a state championship,” Jones said. “When you got kids who have been in this situation before, I think that always helps. They know this is a big game.”
The Jackets (9-3) are set to host Madison Central (8-4) in the Class 7A semifinals, a battle for the north half championship and a spot in the state title game in Oxford next week.
Last week, not many thought Starkville would be in a position to host a state semifinal, but not only did it take care of business against Oxford, the Jaguars upset Tupelo on the blue turf of the Golden Wave, 14-12.
That result sent shockwaves through Mississippi, but gave Starkville a key home-field advantage on Friday night, a place where the Jackets are 6-1 at this season.
“Any time you can play at your own place, especially somewhere where you do all your work at,” Jones said. “We’re all creatures of habit and for the kids, it’s always good when they can stay in their own environment, keep them comfortable and used to normal stuff.”
Since losing the district championship to Tupelo in their regular-season finale, the Jackets have dominated in the postseason, pitching two-straight shutouts while averaging 32 points per game offensively.
Losses aren’t the desired outcomes for teams, but that loss against the Golden Wave seemed to come at an ideal time to right the ship and re-calibrate everything so that everyone, players and coaches, were on the same wavelength headed into the postseason.
“So far, it looks like it’s paying off,” Jones said. “To me, a loss isn’t as bad when you learn and gain something from it. It sounds like it happened at the right time and hopefully, we can just continue to play well.”
The Jackets and Jags met up just over a month ago in Starkville and coming off a bye week, Starkville handedly beat Madison Central, 39-7, dominating all phases of the game from start to finish.
Since that point, the Jags have allowed five points per game over their last three games while scoring more than 31 points per game offensively.
With revenge on their minds coming into Friday, the Jackets need to put it all out there to ensure a second-straight state title game appearance.
“We have to play good football,” Jones said. “It’s a new day. They’re a different team from when we played them a few weeks ago. We have to play good football in all phases.”
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