My goodness, with barely enough time to recover from Noxubee County’s thrilling 24-23 win at Columbus Friday night, we now turn the page and look to the third week of the prep football season.
Two excellent rivalry games are on top with Starkville playing host to West Point and New Hope playing host to Columbus.
Starting in Oktibbeha County, it appears the time may be now for the sizzle to return to this rivalry.
In the last two meetings, Starkville won 34-3 in 2014 and 16-0 in 2015. Neither game was close or compelling.
A lot of time has passed since that dramatic game for the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A North State championship in 2012.
Starkville won that one, 29-28 in overtime. A week later, the Yellow Jackets headed to Jackson and breezed to a state championship win.
The last West Point win in the series was in 2013 – a 55-33 victory at home.
However, it appears that West Point is finally back on an even talent level with Starkville this go around.
West Point was sluggish at times but still managed a 33-13 win over Louisville to open the regular season Friday night. On the other hand, Starkville has opened with pair of impressive victories – a 24-21 win over Noxubee County and a 28-16 road win at Oxford.
In the latest Clarion-Ledger Super 10 rankings, Starkville is third, while West Point is fifth. West Point is the highest-ranked Class 5A team.
In the Associated Press rankings, Starkville and West Point are Nos. 3 and 4. Ironically, West Point got 11 first-place votes in the Class 5A rankings but checks in at second behind Grenada. Starkville received one first-place vote and is third in the Class 6A rankings.
Both teams will be much better when the season ends. However, a few developments have already happened.
Starkville has settled on a quarterback with sophomore Malik Brown taking control of things. West Point is also working with a new quarterback as senior Clayton Knight gets settled in with his new teammates.
Fans will need to get there early, as these neighboring rivals take a step back in time and return to playing a tightly-contest, last-second game.
In Lowndes County, Columbus takes to the road to face upstart New Hope.
The conventional wisdom when the season started was that New Hope would be much better this season. We will get a look at how much better in this contest Friday night on the home turf.
After winning three games last season, New Hope has started 2-0. The Trojans have beaten Louisville and Aberdeen. New Hope lost to both of those teams a year ago.
New Hope has already been flexing its offensive muscle. With a bevy of seniors back on that side of the ball, that was to be expected. A year ago, New Hope had a mighty struggle, moving the ball against Columbus in a 27-6 defeat.
This season, Columbus has looked more human. Noxubee County quarterback Maliek Stallings threw for 275 yards. One would think Thomas Stevens will go the air a similar amount. The Trojans have some players who can catch it, too, with Andre Erby and Jeremy Tate both off to great starts.
Columbus fell from the statewide rankings with the loss to Noxubee County. However, that does not mean we won’t hear from the Falcons again.
There were so many bright sides Friday night. Columbus actually held and eight-point lead and had the ball in the early stages of fourth quarter. In the end, Noxubee County won the game, more than Columbus lost it.
Columbus is working its way through some serious offensive line issues. It is not a lack of talent. Instead, it is a lack of familiarity and experience. Typically, a really good running team has an offensive line that is in sync and moves as one.
Running back Kendre Conner again looks healthy. Meanwhile, Kylin Hill has been hanging out doing Kylin Hill things. Hill already has three kick return touchdowns in two games.
Still, the Falcons could not get a yard on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line twice against Noxubee County. The Falcons have bad snap problems way too often and the penalties have to go away as well.
The good news for Columbus is that Class 6A is wide open and anytime the ball goes to Hill it could go to the end zone.
Columbus needs some experience on its offensive line. The unit will have another chance against New Hope Friday night and then have its hands full against West Point next Friday night.
Fans should also arrive early at New Hope. There is buzz about the 2-0 Trojans. With the exception of the elite status of West Point, it looks like second place in Class 5A, Region 1 play is up for grabs.
Two compelling storylines and two games that should be fun to watch.
Scott Walters is a sports writer for The Dispatch. He may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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