From Staff Reports
JACKSON — Order has been restored in the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A, Region 2 race.
After not winning the region title a year ago, Starkville got the new season off to a promising start with a 42-0 win over Jackson Provine Friday night at Hughes Field.
Starkville (5-1, 1-0 region) has won three straight games overall.
“We just wanted to start district play off the right way,” Starkville first-year coach Chris Jone said. “It can be difficult on the road. You need to start fast and we were able to do that.”
Behind three first-half touchdowns from Rodrigues Clark, Starkville built a 21-0 halftime lead. Clark scored on touchdown runs of 3, 1 and 17 yards.
“The timing of (Clark’s performance) was good,” Jones said. “You have to run the ball on the road to win games. We established the run early.”
Cameron Hines then took things over in the second half.
In the third quarter alone, Hines scored on a 9-yard touchdown run, while catching 38-yard pass from Luke Altmyer and a 15-yard pass from Malik Brown.
Starkville finished with 444 total yards, with 273 of those coming on the ground.
Clark ran 22 times for 157 yards. Brown was 11 of 19 pasing for 82 yards, while Altmyer was 7 of 7 passing for 89 yards.
Provine (4-1, 1-1) finished with 116 total yards and five first downs.
“(The defense) contained the quarterback,” Jones said. “They stayed disciplined to their assignment but when it was the right time, they turned around and got 11 hats to the ball.”
Jacob Williams had nine tackles, while Jalen Ware had eight tackles and Zach Edwards had seven tackles, with two of those for loss. Myles Stone had a fumble recovery.
The Yellow Jackets had eight tackles for loss and five pass break-ups.
Starkville will play host to Northwest Rankin in another region game Friday night.
West Monroe (Louisiana) 38, Noxubee County 26: At Monroe, Louisiana, the Tigers gained 444 yards total offense but could not complete a fourth-quarter rally.
For Noxubee County (2-4), Armoni Clark threw for 348 yards.
Noxubee County drove 81 yards early in the fourth quarter. Clark hit Rashad Eades on a 65-yard pickup before L.C. Clemmons capped the drive on a 5-yard touchdown run.
That brought the Tigers within 31-26 with 9 minutes, 30 seconds remaining.
West Monroe (4-0) used a powerful running game to quickly build a 14-0 lead less than a minute into the second quarter. The lead was 24-6 at halftime.
Kyziah Pruitt had 13 receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown. Eades had four receptions for 155 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown catch.
Noxubee County was penalized 17 times for 102 yards in walkoffs.
Noxubee County is open Friday night, before beginning MHSAA Class 4A, Region 4 play at home with Louisville on Oct. 6.
Vardaman 36, West Lowndes 6: At Columbus, the Panthers fell to 0-3 in MHSAA Class 1A, Region 3 play with the home loss.
Patrick Pratt led Vancleave (4-2, 2-1) with three rushing touchdowns and an interception on defense. Michael Willams and Landon Patch also added rushing scores.
Quay Sanders scored the lone touchdown for West Lowndes (1-4, 0-3) on a 1-yard quarterback sneak after a turnover set the Panthers up for a short drive.
West Lowndes remains in region play for a contest at French Camp Academy Friday night.
Itawamba AHS 45, Aberdeen 32: At Fulton, the Bulldogs dropped their third straight on the road.
The Indians (5-1) scored on all six first-half possessions and quickly built a 38-12 halftime lead. Ike Chandler ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns.
For Aberdeen (3-3), Dajoun Dobbs scored on touchdown runs of 7 and 5 yards. Brandan Williams also scored on a 9-yard run. Fred Fields hit Isaiah McMillian for touchdown passes of 35 and 53 yards.
McMillian finished with nine receptions for 126 yards for the Bulldogs.
Aberdeen opens MHSAA Class 3A, Region 4 play by playing host to Nettleton Friday night.
Noxapater 18, Hamilton 16: At Noxapater, the Lions slipped to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in MHSAA Class 1A, Region 3 play.
Hamilton will play host to Ethel in region play Friday night.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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