STARKVILLE – Starkville Academy second-year football coach Chase Nicholson does not want to use the term “inexperienced” in connection with his team.
“Rebuilding” and “youthful” will also not be coming out of his mouth.
Instead, Nicholson and the Volunteers are eternal optimists despite newcomers up and down the lineup. After winning 11 games a season ago, Nicholson believes the best is yet to come.
“I think we are building something and the kids are taking great pride in that,” Nicholson said. “While we only have 28 on the roster, we make up for our shortcoming there with how hard these kids are working and how many different positions they can play.”
After going winless in 2009, Jeff Terrill turned around the program’s fortunes. In 2011, Terrill’s second team won 10 games and played for the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools state championship. Nicholson was an assistant on that squad.
Entering 2016, the Volunteers come in with back-to-back win 10-win seasons in Terrill’s final campaign and Nicholson’s first. Starkville Academy began practice in last week in anticipation of an Aug. 12 preseason game at home against Noxapater. The season opener is Aug. 19 at Marshall Academy.
“We’ve come a long way out here,” Starkville Academy senior defensive end/offensive lineman Torin Hamilton said. “It’s a pride thing. People now want to play on the football team. People want to come to football games. We feel a lot of pressure, because we don’t want to let everybody down. We want to make sure those winning ways continue.”
Nicholson feels like the optimism level is higher than at any time in his six-year association with the school. Several basketball players have come out for the football team, helping bolster the roster number and adding much-needed depth.
“There is a lot of enthusiasm around Starkville Academy football,” Nicholson said. “I think we have made it fun. I think we have made it something that people want to be part of. Now, we have guys who would not have played in the past, coming out and wanting to give it a try. You can feel that pulse. You can feel something good is happening.”
The Volunteers will be looking to replace seven starters on both sides of the ball. Still, Nicholson likes the talent level of his squad.
“We will have a lot of new faces but I think the togetherness of this team is a real strength,” Nicholson said. “Typically, you would be down when you are looking at starting this many new people. However, this team loves to practice and loves to get better every day. I think that will be huge going forward.
“I think we can close the gap and cover a lot of ground in our practice time before we play a game.”
Junior quarterback Noah Methvin will be taking over for Houston Clark. On the ground, senior Dalton Dempsey will be asked to anchor the running game. Hamilton anchors an offensive line with some experience.
“Noah is going to be really great,” Dempsey said. “He makes excellent decisions and knows what to do when the ball is snapped. He reads defenses well and he has already emerged as a leader for us. I think you will see us being able to do some of the same things we have done on offense the last couple of years.”
On defense, senior linebacker Drew Jackson leads a unit, which will rely on its speed and quickness.
“Last season, we were a very fast defense,” Jackson said. “This year, we may have even more speed. That’s a really big advantage for us. We have some new guys who will have to find their roles but we have a good attitude in practice. Even though there are not a lot of seniors, we are doing our best to lead.
“We have established ourselves as one of the premier (MAIS) programs, so we are trying to keep that up.”
In the newly-expanded MAIS four-class system, Starkville Academy remained in Class AAA last season. The Volunteers swept District 2 by beating Winston Academy, Heritage Academy and Leake Academy. Playing for a state championship seemed likely before an upset loss to Simpson Academy in the second round.
“Everybody was disappointed in how last season ended,” Hamilton said. “I think that has been the big motivation for this team. Everybody has been lifting extra weights or doing extra running. We knew we were in a position last year but didn’t take advantage of that.
“Our goal is not to take a step backward this season and instead keep going forward.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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