STARKVILLE — Jamie Mitchell answered the question was answered before the week started: The Starkville High School football team will play its starters at 7 tonight in the regular-season finale against Neshoba Central.
Even though the Yellow Jackets (7-3, 6-0 Class 5A, Region 2) have locked up the top seed in the region, Mitchell said they will treat this game just like any other game. Starkville already will play host to a first-round playoff game against the No. 4 seed from Region 1 next week at Yellowjackets Stadium.
But Mitchell doesn’t want to rest his veterans and playmakers against Neshoba Central (5-5, 3-3).
“They put it on the schedule and so, guess what? We’re going to try and win it,” Mitchell said to his team Friday after a 34-16 victory at Jackson Callaway.
Senior quarterback Gabe Myles said after that victory that back-to-back undefeated seasons in region play would mean just as much as a region championship, so he hoped to play as much as possible against Neshoba Central, which needs a victory to secure a playoff berth.
Myles has 14 touchdowns and has 1,117 combined total yards this season despite missing two games with a ankle injury.
“I hope they let me play as long as I need to next week,” Myles said. “We need to stay focused and in rhythm offensively, so going full speed is the only way I know how to do that.”
Neshoba Central defeated Provine 7-6. A victory tonight would clinch a playoff spot for the Rockets and force a matchup against West Point or Oxford next week on the road.
Every one of the Starkville’s running backs (Preston Baker, Darius Grayer, Jacquez Horsley) is averaging more than 6 yards per touch, which allows the team to control the tempo and to keep their defense rested.
Myles has gotten in on the ground attack by averaging 4 yards a carry and compiling 328 yards, including a game-clinching play last week on a 53-yard touchdown.
“Whatever my team needs me to do, it’s done, and that’s the sign of a leader,” Myles said. “Every person on this team wants to get back to Jackson, and we’ll sacrifice whatever we need to in order to do that.”
Neshoba Central has suffered a rash of injuries this season after being two games out of a region title last season. Coach Chuck Friend relies on a running game that produced 208 rushing yards on 27 carries last week in a 51-8 victory against Jackson Lanier. Senior tailback O’Neal McCarty had touchdown runs of 14 and 6 yards and didn’t play in the second half.
“We have got to avoid mistakes and turnovers,” Friend said to the Neshoba Democrat. “You can’t do that against a team like Starkville. But we can do it.”
Tonight will be Senior Night for Starkville. The program will honor 23 for their contributions.
“This is the group I began with when I took this job at Starkville, and it means a lot to me to see them get this honor,” Mitchell said. “We’ll play them in the beginning because they deserve to go out with a undefeated region record.”
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