STARKVILLE — Chase Nicholson didn’t panic.
The Starkville Academy football coach knew his team needed time to adjust to Hartfield Academy’s triple-option attack. Two scores by the visitors in the first quarter, though, added to Nicholson’s anxiety.
But the Volunteers have become adept at overcoming adversity, so Nicholson believed his team was going to respond.
Buoyed by a blocked extra-point attempt by Codie Futral, Starkville Academy pitched a shutout for the next three quarters en route to a 20-13 victory in the first round of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA playoffs at J.E. Logan Field.
The win pushed seventh-seeded Starkville Academy (8-3) into a second-round matchup against second-seeded Adams County Christian School (9-2) at 7 tonight in Natchez.
The winner of that game will play the winner of the game between third-seeded Centreville Academy and sixth-seeded Greenville St. Joseph Catholic School next week.
In addition to providing a spark with the blocked kick, Futral had 20 carries for 155 yards and three touchdowns. He scored on runs of 6, 8, and 10 yards in relief of starter Kyle Faver. Both players spent the week leading up to the game against Hartfield Academy polishing their skills at quarterback after Noah Methvin, the team’s No. 1 quarterback, was injured in a 14-12 victory against Winston Academy in the regular-season finale on Oct. 21.
Nicholson credited Faver (nine carries, 28 yards) for his play early in the game and for his selflessness in encouraging him to go with Futral at quarterback because he felt he had a “hot hand.” Futral’s first score, a 6-yard run, helped the Volunteers re-gain momentum.
“He breaks the big run (for 67 yards), we score, and Faver says ‘Coach, stick with him. Run him until they stop him,’ ” Nicholson said. “He comes in later on at running back and helped us on a big drive that got us our second touchdown. He got our coaches’ award because he looked at us and said, ‘I am fine. I am not playing defense this week because I have to stand over here with you guys, but keep him in the game.’ ”
Nicholson said Faver’s decision helped convince him he is doing something right. He said all of the players have bought into his system, which made it easy to understand why Faver was willing to step aside for his teammate.
“I told the team, this is why he gets the coaches’ award because he works his butt off all week, gets equal reps that Futral gets all week, doesn’t play defense because he commits to trying to help the quarterback position and probably plays 15 plays the whole night,” Nicholson said. “He still has a smile on his face and is having a good time and didn’t go into a shell. He knew Futral was now the man and he fell back into the backup role and he was totally fine with that. I pointed it out to the guys because when you have a team player like that everybody needs to know that.”
Nicholson said that mentality is strong throughout the team. He said he and his assistant coaches have tried to instill an unselfish mind-set into each player so they understand their role. Nicholson said Methvin is another example in that he spent all week working with Futral to help get him up to speed for the first round of the playoffs.
“That is the way it is supposed to be,” Nicholson said. “Methvin is head-butting people with his helmet off and his broken collarbone. You see him on film when somebody gets tackled on our sideline being the first one there high-fiving his teammates and hitting them on the butt. In timeouts, he is beating the coaches out to the huddle. His role changed from being a leader on the field to being a leader among men. He filled that role beautifully.”
Nicholson hopes efforts and examples like that continue tonight against a team that enters the game on a nine-game winning streak. Adams County Christian opened the season with losses to Class AAAA Madison-Ridgeland Academy and Jackson Academy.
“It’s all about not quitting,” Nicholson said. “We have had to not quit so many times to get it done. … It is not going to be any different when we go to Adams County Christian. We’re going to be faced with adversity. There is always something, so it doesn’t shock us to see adversity. We’re going to go cause some adversity.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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