The Starkville Academy football team secured its first football playoff berth in six seasons last week with a victory.
The Volunteers don’t plan to stop and celebrate now.
Starkville Academy (7-1) will play its final non-division game of the season at 7 p.m. when it travels to Louisville to take on Winston Academy.
“We are to that exciting part of the season,” Starkville Academy coach Jeff Terrill said. “We are to the point where every game has meaning. As you continue to win, the games you play get bigger and bigger. This is a very exciting time for our program.”
Winners of three games a season ago, Starkville Academy will play host to East Rankin Academy in a game that will decide the Class AAA, District 2, Division II champion. A victory not only would secure the division title, but it also would earn the Volunteers a home game in the first round of the playoffs.
“The challenge this week is to keep the focus,” Terrill said. “Winston has a fine ballclub. They have good speed and good depth. They have been down a couple of players and those players are expected back for our game, so even though it is not a division game, it is still important they play well and keep the momentum.”
Starkville Academy clinched the playoff berth with a 7-5 victory against Parklane Academy at home. It was Starkville Academy’s first victory against a Class AAA, Division I opponent in several seasons.
While Parklane Academy held Starkville Academy in check, Volunteers’ quarterback Drew Pellum and the option-oriented offense made the most of their limited chances.
“This was a big statement,” Terrill said. “Last year, we got beat 38-20 over there. They were physical and outworked us. We told our players after the game that is the type of team that we want to become. We took another step toward that with this win.”
Ryan Mann rushed for 92 yards and a first-quarter touchdown. Pellum added 79 yards. Starkville Academy led 7-3 at halftime and had a chance to score more but was turned away on downs at the Parklane 1-yard line in the fourth quarter.
Winston Academy is 4-3. The Patriots, who were open last week, are in a three-way tie for second in the Class 2A, District 2 race. Winston Academy has lost two of three, including a 34-13 home loss to Simpson Academy two weeks ago.
Quarterback Tyler Sullivan didn’t play against Simpson Academy due to an injury. Sullivan, who has thrown for 12 touchdowns and 1,469 yards this season, is expected back for Friday night’s game.
Starkville Academy won last season’s meeting, 31-29.
Pelahatchie (6-2, 4-1) at East Oktibbeha (5-2, 3-1)
Another week means another challenge for the Titans to remain alive in the Class 1A, Region 3 title chase.
East Oktibbeha began the season focused on finishing in the top two of the nine-team region. Last Friday, it lost to Noxapater 41-18 in a showdown of league unbeatens. Now, East Oktibbeha must regroup quickly before it gets lost in the shuffle.
“I was disappointed in our effort,” East Oktibbeha coach Randy Brooks said. “We didn’t really respond to playing a really great team. We left too many plays on the field. The biggest thing is we didn’t play to our full potential. If you do that and get beat, it’s a different story.”
Noxapater leads the region at 5-0. Nanih Waiya is 4-0. Pelahatchie (4-1), East Oktibbeha, and West Oktibbeha (3-1) are front-runners for the final two playoff spots. The top two teams will play host to a first-round north state playoff game Nov. 11.
“We can still accomplish our goals, but it starts this week,” Brooks said. “If we want to host in the playoffs, this is a much-win situation for us. All you can do now is keep working hard, plugging along, while trying to become a better team each week.”
Against East Oktibbeha, Noxapater scored on its first two possessions. In the early stages of the second quarter, the Titans had their best drive, which Davalyn Bell capped with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Chris Harris.
The Titans’ momentum was short-lived as Noxapater answered with back-to-back touchdowns to take a 28-6 halftime lead.
James Brown scored twice in the second half on runs of 1 yard and 21 yards. Bell was 12 of 24 for 136 yards. Brown rushed 13 times for 83 yards. Terrence Rice had three catches for 85 yards.
“The biggest thing was our defensive effort,” Brooks said. “We didn’t do a good enough job of tackling. We struggled to keep their offense under control.”
East Oktibbeha will close the regular season with games against West Oktibbeha and Nanih Waiya. The Titans likely will need to win two of those three to finish in the top two in the division.
Pelahatchie is on a four-game win streak. It beat West Lowndes 51-14 at home last week
The teams didn’t meet last year.
West Oktibbeha (5-2, 3-1) at West Lowndes (2-5, 1-3)
Thanks to a three-game win streak, the Timberwolves also finds themselves back in the mix for a Class 1A, Region 3 playoff berth, a chance to play host to a first-round game, and a shot at the region crown.
West Oktibbeha moved back into a two-way tie for fourth place with next week’s opponent, East Oktibbeha, last week with a 42-18 victory against Ethel. It was the Timberwolves’ closest margin of victory in the three-game win streak.
“When we have balance on offense, we can be a dangerous team,” West Oktibbeha coach Adam Lowrey said. “If we block right and our skill players execute their assignments, we really have a chance to move the football and score points.”
The Timberwolves may have found an emerging standout last week. Fresh off a 17-tackle performance against Sebastopol, Tiberias Lampkin ran for 258 yards against Ethel. Quarterback Von Smith was 12 of 21 for 132 yards.
“We were able to get some young players in the game, and that was a good thing,” Lowrey said. “We had a couple of struggles earlier in the year. However, the last three weeks we have played well. There has been improvement on both sides of the ball. That doesn’t mean the hard work is over. We just have to find a way for this to carry over to our last four games of the season.”
West Lowndes is on a three-game losing streak. It lost to Pelahatchie 51-14 last week. West Lowndes also suffered back-to-back shutouts to East Oktibbeha and Noxapater.
West Oktibbeha won last season’s meeting, 36-14.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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