STARKVILLE — Starkville High School football coach Ricky Woods told a buddy Friday before his team’s game against Warren Central he expected his quarterback to rush for 200 yards.
As ambitious a prediction as it was, especially considering Woods moved senior standout linebacker Willie Gay Jr. behind center for the must-win game at Yellow Jacket Stadium, his prediction wasn’t even close.
Gay rushed for 319 yards on 40 carries to lead Starkville to a 35-28 victory against No. 2 Warren Central, drawing awe and a sense of relief from his teammates and the Senior Night crowd as he accounted for all five Yellow Jacket touchdowns.
The win gave Starkville (7-3, 4-2 Class 6A, Region 2) sole possession of fourth place in the region after Northwest Rankin lost to Madison Central on Friday. Since Northwest Rankin owns the head-to-head tiebreaker, Starkville, the reigning Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A State champion, must win next Friday at No. 4 Clinton to earn a playoff spot, or depend on Northwest Rankin to lose to a Murrah team that has won only twice this season.
“He’s just so good on defense, but it came to the point in the season when we needed some offense,” said Woods, who decided to try Gay at quarterback after the team’s Oct. 21 victory against regional rival Callaway. “He can score from any point on the field. … He needed to. He was willing to and he did it.”
Gay hadn’t played on offense since the eighth grade. He didn’t attempt a pass, despite taking all but two of Starkville’s offensive snaps.
What’s more, Gay — a highly recruited Division I college linebacker prospect — only had five days to prepare for the position switch.
None of that seemed to matter.
“I just tried to put the team on my back like coach told me,” Gay said. “I’ve been asking since the Oxford game (in Week 3) to be put on offense. (When it happened) I said, ‘I got to get it.'”
Gay pounded Warren Central’s highly touted defense for 167 yards and two touchdowns in the first half as the Yellow Jackets controlled the clock and ground the game to a 14-14 tie.
On Starkville’s first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Gay powered his way into the secondary and raced 59 yards for his third touchdown.
Gay scored twice more — once late in the third quarter from 18 yards and on a 7-yard keeper midway through the fourth quarter — to secure the win.
After the game, however, Gay was scarcely willing to take all the credit.
“I’m kind of surprised by how many yards I got,” he said. “I knew I could do pretty well, but they have a really good defense. My O-line, though, my goodness. They were amazing. And our defense stepped up late and made some big stops.”
Each player and each team has its personality, Woods said. On the individual front, he described Gay not just as a physically strong young man, but a well-mannered, high-character leader his team needs entering the season finale that will most likely be a do-or-die affair.
Woods’ team, which lost 34 seniors after last year’s title run, has to keep fighting for its shot to keep playing, he said.
“Our backs are to the wall, and we have to get the job done,” Woods said. “We’ve got to take care of our end (of the deal).”
For Gay’s part, he’s not yet ready to hang his cleats up for the winter. He is, however, prepared to remain at quarterback until season’s end.
“I’m sure I will be,” he said, smiling.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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