CLINTON — Starkville High School senior quarterback Brady Davis and Clinton High School sophomore quarterback Cam Akers staged one heck of a battle Friday night.
In the end, Davis had the good fortune of having Raphael Leonard, A.J. Brown, and Matt Fuller in his huddle.
In a game pitting two of the state’s premier defense, the top-ranked Yellow Jackets proved to be the better offensive team.
Starkville racked up 650 yards and escaped Clinton with a 56-46 victory and the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 2 championship.
“We lost the region title last year on a heart-breaker,” said Fuller, a senior. “To come back and win the region this year is sweet. You will always remember playing on an undefeated team. We still have some unfinished business. But playing on this team has been a lot of fun. We know we can be special.”
Starkville finished the regular season 11-0 and 7-0 in region play. It will play host to Tupelo (8-3) in the opening round of the Class 6A playoffs Friday night. Clinton (9-2, 6-1 region) earns the No. 2 seed in the region and will play host to Grenada (9-3).
“You had two of the best defenses in the state on the field, and I am not sure how anyone could have expected that,” Starkville coach Jamie Mitchell said. “We will take the win and move on. You saw some special offensive players making some special offensive plays.”
An hour after the game, Davis sent a congratulatory tweet to Akers complimenting he and his teammates on how well they competed.
“We just never could find a way to get away,” Davis said. “I am sure that was fun to watch as fans. It was fun as players. We have playmakers. My job is to get them the ball.”
Davis did that on a very high level Friday night. He was 18 of 28 for 322 yards and five touchdowns. Raphael Leonard had 11 catches for 157 yards and three touchdowns, while A.J. Brown had five catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
The story, though, might have been Fuller. With leading rusher Jacquez Horsley out with a potential season-ending injury, the running game has fallen on the shoulders of Fuller and Avery Brown.
Fuller set new career highs with 35 rushes and 217 total yards. He scored three touchdowns.
“Wow, I didn’t know I had 200 yards,” Fuller said. “Sometimes when you offensive line blocks well, you lose track of what kind of night you are having. I just knew we were going out there and having to score each time because the game was still tight.”
Mitchell has marveled at his team’s consistency all year. Injuries or in-game frustrations don’t carry over.
“Matt did what you expect a senior leader to do, he has stepped up big time, Mitchell said. “You have to run the football to win on this level. The offensive line may have played its best game. But Matt has been special. When (Horsley) went down, he just knew that meant a heavier workload. And Matt has been working through some injuries, too. Even though he is not at 100 percent, he just keeps battling.”
Starkville hadn’t allowed more than 29 points in a game, and a large majority of those points came by reserves from Oxford late in the game. Clinton was well on its way to eclipsing that mark after a 20-point first quarter.
Clinton finished with 435 yards and 17 first downs. The teams combined to run 138 offensive plays for 1,085 yards and 48 first downs.
Akers was 14 of 24 for 309 yards and four touchdowns. T.J. Beverly had five receptions for 178 yards and two touchdowns.
“That Clinton team has a chance to be really special next year,” Mitchell said.
Still Starkville seized the momentum on the defense.
When Fuller plowed in from 5 yards out, Starkville led 21-20 less than a minute into the second quarter. The Yellow Jackets then forced the Arrows into back-to-back punts for the only time in the game.
Starkville missed a field goal after its first stop but used a Davis to Leonard 6-yard touchdown for a 28-20 lead at halftime. The Yellow Jackets then received the second-half kickoff and moved 61 yards on six plays. Davis hit Leonard for a 12-yard touchdown and a 35-20 lead.
Clinton later pulled within one score, 49-46, on a 15-yard run by Beverly. However, three missed extra points hurt the Arrows’ chances.
Fuller put the game away with a 5-yard touchdown run.
“We have four games left, and we are really excited about the playoffs,” Fuller said. “This team has come a long way since the start of the season.”
Starkville has shown flashes of dominance this season. A week ago, it trailed 17-0 before rallying past Warren Central 27-17. Mitchell likes his team entering the second season.
“We are battle-tested,” Mitchell said. “After what you saw tonight, you can safely say we have won in all kinds of ways. I think that will serve us well in the playoffs.”
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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