OXFORD — Malik Brown demonstrated coolness under pressure Friday night.
After throwing a touchdown to Tavian Clark in the third quarter, the Starkville High School sophomore quarterback thought the kicking team was coming on the field. But Starkville coach Ricky Woods decided to go for the two-point conversion. However, there was some confusion after the score, as players were running on and off the field and the play clock was winding down. Woods called a timeout and brought the Yellow Jackets together.
Brown took the snap from center Connor Reinike and rolled to his left. He could have gone up top and hit big wide receiver Cameron Gardner, but he decided to go with the underneath route and found Clark for the conversion to stretch the lead to two touchdowns.
Even with defensive line crashing down on him and linebackers racing to knock him out of bounds, Brown seemed calmed.
“I wasn’t nervous,” Brown said.
Brown made the most of his first career start by helping Starkville beat Oxford 28-16 Friday night at Bobby Holcombe Field to win the Little Egg Bowl, a spin on the college rivalry of Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
Brown began the season as Jaquez Akins’ backup, but Akins suffered an injury in the opener against Noxubee County and Brown was thrust into action. He played the final few minutes of the first half and all of the second half and led the Yellow Jackets (2-0) to a victory.
Woods, who said Brown was the “best” quarterback he has, decided after that performance to make Brown the starter and let Akins stay at safety.
“He’s just young, but he can run, throw, and think,” Woods said. “He does a good job. He’s going to go through some growing pains, he’s allusive, and he’s going to make some sophomore mistakes, but we’re all going to. I think he did well. We overcome a lot of adversity. He’s going to get better every week, and I’m proud of him.”
Brown was 9 of 15 for 167 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He had 15 carries for 55 yards.
Brown and Akins are cousins, so the decision to make him the starter was bittersweet. Brown said Akins gave him some encouraging words Monday as he began to prepare for a battle.
“It was kind of a hard decision to make that I would be starting as a sophomore, but everything rolled at practice and it just came to me,” Brown said.
Brown got the Jackets on the board when he hit Gardner for a 20-yard touchdown with 6 minutes, 46 seconds remaining in the opening quarter. Gardner was doubled team, but he went up and caught the ball at the pylon with both defenders around him and fell into the end zone to give Starkville a 7-0 lead.
K.J. Lawrence had a 9-yard touchdown to give Starkville a 13-0 lead in the second quarter. Oxford answered on the next possession, as John McClure hit Jaquan Webb for a 77-yard touchdown on a screen pass. Starkville led 13-7 at halftime.
With 27 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Brown hit Clark for the touchdown and the two-point conversion to make it 21-7.
The Chargers pulled with seven on a McClure 56-yard pass to Barry Flowers. Oxford cut the lead to 21-16 on a safety with 5:41 remaining, but the Starkville defense held.
Rodrigues Clark’s 12-yard touchdown with 1:35 remaining put the game out of reach.
Senior linebacker Willie Gay, who is committed to Ole Miss, was used to watching Montario Montgomery direct the offense last season. Montgomery, who was also a first-year starter, did well enough to led the Jackets to the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A State championship.
Gay didn’t compare Brown to Montgomery, but he was impressed with how Brown handled himself.
“I think he played good,” Gay said. “Starting off strong, that was the best thing for us. It gave us some room to work. He helped out a lot, running the ball and throwing the ball to Cameron Gardner in the end zone. It was big.
“Actually it’s not even us, it’s all about him and his confidence in himself. If he thinks he can do it, he can make some big plays, some huge plays.”
Brown and Starkville play host to West Point at 7 p.m. Friday. After a week of experiencing life as a starter in practice, he should have a good idea of what to expect this week.
The confidence he gained against Oxford, especially on the two-point conversion, shows he’s ready for whatever is thrown at him.
“I’m comfortable now. Monday I was a little nervous at practice because we had a big game coming up, but now I’m OK with that,” Brown said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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