STARKVILLE — It wasn’t pretty but in the end, Starkville held on to the Little Egg Bowl trophy Friday night.
The Yellow Jackets (4-1) overcame sloppy play and several penalties to capture a 33-13 victory over Oxford, the Jackets eight win in its last nine matchups with the Chargers.
Starkville senior quarterback Trey Petty paced the offense with a pair of touchdown passes and a pair of touchdown runs.
“We had too many mistakes and we have to clean a lot of stuff up,” said Starkville head coach Chris Jones. “We have to fix our discipline, bad eyes and just a lot of little stuff that we have to continue to get better with. It is good to win but we are about teaching and getting better.”
After Starkville took an early 6-0 lead on a 16-yard touchdown run from Petty, Oxford (2-3) put together its best drive of the first half. The Chargers converted a fourth down in the red zone and took a 7-6 advantage after a Jamarion Pegues 10 yard scoring run early in the second quarter.
But the Jackets closed out the first-half scoring with short touchdown runs by Jay Stevenson and Petty to take a 20-7 halftime advantage.
“That was huge,” Jones added about Petty’s touchdown in the closing seconds of the first half. “It gave us the edge we needed and gave us a cushion and some momentum.”
Oxford recovered the second-half onside kick and drove into Starkville territory before turning the ball over on downs. Senior receiver Braylon Burnside had a pair of touchdown catches in the third quarter to help the Jackets hold a commanding 33-7 lead.
“The late touchdown right before the half was a big one,” noted Oxford head coach Chris Cutcliffe. “We were able to get a little momentum going with the onside kick to start the second half. But we went four and out and gave them the ball back. Coach Jones does an awesome job and he is a friend of mine. I have so much respect for him and the job he does.”
Oxford finished with 212 yards of offense, including only 83 on the ground. Jay Brown had a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the Chargers’ lone score of the second half.
Starkville concludes non-district play Friday with a home game against Greenwood.
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