STARKVILLE — Starkville High School football coach Jamie Mitchell said he has reminded his players and his coaches tonight’s matchup against Madison Central isn’t a playoff game.
The game just has the feel of a postseason affair because of the implications it will have on Class 6A, Region 2.
“There’s times in practice I need to tell our players and coaches the result of this game will simply mean one team will be 4-0 in our division. That’s it,” Mitchell said. “Is it important? Yes. Is it critical or do-or-die? No. Playoff games define programs.”
After a 39-6 victory at Greenville-Weston last week, Mitchell declared his team’s game against Madison Central was the matchup “everybody was waiting on” to determine this year’s region champion. Mitchell had a different tone Tuesday after he spent practice spent trying to figure out the Jaguars’ tempo offense. Mitchell and his coaches used this week to figure out how the Yellow Jackets (5-2, 3-0 region) will get defensive play calls in from the sidelines in a faster tempo game.
“If they tempo us, and they will early, then we have to find a way to get off the field on defense, especially on third down,” Mitchell said.
Madison Central (5-2, 3-0) will challenge Starkville’s run defense and its resurgent front seven with junior tailback Trey Smith, who has 1,530 all-purpose yards this season. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound son of NFL All-Pro wide receiver Jimmy Smith leads the Jaguars with nine touchdowns. He has rushed for 477 yards in his past three games.
“Our coaching staff calls perfect plays and puts us in the perfect spots to have big plays on offense,” Smith said after rushing for 207 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-18 victory against Murrah on Oct. 4.
Starkville expects to have senior linebacker Taylor Johnston back from fractured wrists, but Mitchell doesn’t know how effective Johnston will be.
“Our defense and our quarterback play has been our turnaround this season,” Mitchell said. “We’ve been really good defensively since I’ve been here, and it’s a point of pride as much as putting points on the board is to them, I’m sure.”
“I think this game is about getting us back on the right side of the injury bug. Last year (a 24-8 loss in Madison), we had several starters out on both sides of the ball and who knows what could’ve happened if we were fully healthy.”
Follow Matt Stevens on Twitter @matthewcstevens.
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