STARKVILLE — Maleke Bell and Starkville High School were ready to compete for a state championship last season.
So much so, the Yellow Jackets felt like they were invincible and couldn’t be beat. Starkville was one win away from playing for that state championship, but South Panola stood in its way. The Jackets led 12-0 at halftime, but saw the Tigers score 36 points in the second half and beat the Jackets 36-26 in a semifinal game. It ended the undefeated season and the dream of a state championship, but it also gave the Jackets some perspective.
“I think we learned a lot,” Bell said. “I think we learned how to be humble.”
The Jackets are back in almost the exact same spot this season, but there is a new attitude with the team about approaching the upcoming game. Starkville (12-1) plays host to Madison Central (9-5) 7 p.m. Friday night at Yellow Jacket Stadium in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A North Half State championship game. The winner will play either Petal or Meridian 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford for the state championship.
Starkville opened last season with 13-straight wins and the Jackets cruised through Class 6A, Region 2 to earn the top seed in the playoffs. Ranked No. 1 in the state for most of the season, the Jackets felt like a state championship was inevitable. Starkville finished with a 13-1 overall record.
First-year coach Ricky Woods was coaching in Tennessee last season, so he wasn’t around last year’s squad. He doesn’t know what it was like for the returning players, but know they learned a lot from last year’s playoff run.
“I think they understand the importance of it,” Woods said. “They’ve grown from a practical purpose.
“They know if they don’t play, they don’t win. If they don’t win, they don’t go on. It takes 16 quarters to be in the hunt for a state championship. You can’t say two, or three, or four, or eight, it’s got to be 16 good quarters. That’s just been the focus.
The Jackets are playing in their 16th north half game and they have won nine of those to advance to state championship games. Starkville has won five state championships.
Starkville also learned not to overlook another team and think a win was in the bag. Even after beating Madison Central 28-10 in the regular season, the Jackets aren’t taking the Jaguars lightly.
Madison Central beat South Panoloa 14-8 in the first round of the playoffs in Batesville. The Jaguars have won five-straight games since the loss to the Jackets.
“Our coaches are drilling in our mind that there is no easy team,” senior Jacket quarterback Montario Montgomery said. “If you make the playoffs, you’re a good team. They’re good enough to beat South Panola and end their win streak, so they are probably one of the best teams in the playoffs. We just can’t overlook them.”
Montgomery played sparingly last season and backed up Brady Davis. This year, Montgomery has passed for 2,436 yards and 24 touchdowns and rushed for 246 yards and another nine touchdowns. Senior wide receiver A.J. Brown leads the team with 69 catches for 1,148 yards and 11 touchdowns. Senior running back Avery Brown has rushed for 1,433 yards and 16 touchdowns.
The Jackets learned a lesson in the season opener this year. Noxubee County beat Starkville 26-20 in double overtime. But since then, the Jackets have been a different team and have won 12-straight games.
“The first loss of the season really helped us out too because we came in with the big head because we lost one game last year,” Bell said.
Bell has 39 tackles (17 for loss), three sacks, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble, one blocked field goal, and a blocked extra point this season. Junior linebacker Abdural Lee leads the team with 100 tackles. Senior Terrance Grayer has a team-high five interceptions.
Along with beating South Panola, the Jaguars took down Warren Central 21-14 last week. First-year coach Brad Peterson saw his team lose five of six games from Sept. 10 to Oct. 16, but things started to change and the Jaguars have won five-straight games.
“They’re more intense, they’ve got more passion,” Montgomery said. “We just have to pick up our intensity level.”
Woods said Madison Central has really begun to run the ball well and the defense has improved. He said the Jaguar defensive line was the best they faced all season, so it will be a big battle up front.
For Bell and the rest of the seniors, they don’t want to go out with a loss. This will be their last game at Yellow Jacket Stadium and they want to make it special.
But they are fully committed to Madison Central preparations.
“We’ve just got to get locked in and mentally prepared for a game like this,” Bell said. “They can come in here and do the same thing Panola did last year.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.