Drew Pellum showed Friday night that the Starkville Academy football team is more than just a fullback and dive-driven team.
The junior quarterback rushed for 95 yards and three touchdowns to lead Starkville Academy to a 33-7 victory against Heritage Academy at C.L. Mitchell Field.
Fullback Ryan Mann rushed for 101 yards and had two touchdowns, and ”A” back Colby Runnels added 91 yards as the Volunteers pounded out 287 rushing yards on 52 carries. The effort comes a week after Starkville Academy had 356 rushing yards in a season-opening 38-3 victory against St. Andrews.
“We”re stronger and we”re faster,” Pellum said. “We”re going to drill the ball down the field and we”re going to run it. We”re just going to break it open.”
Pellum worked in the ”A” back last season behind quarterback Kyle Henson. He said he knew since Henson”s graduation that he would move into the quarterback role and has been working on his footwork — or his steps — so he could master the option offense.
Through two games, Pellum is doing just fine.
Starkville Academy (2-0) responded from fumbles on the first two kickoffs of the game and answered Heritage Academy”s only score of the game with a 10-yard touchdown run by Pellum with 6 minutes, 17 seconds to go in the first quarter.
The Volunteers took control in the second quarter after Taylor Hunt intercepted a pass by quarterback Brandon Bell. A 29-yard run by Mann and a 12-yard quick strike from Pellum to James Mapp set up Mann for a 1-yard plunge that made it 12-7.
Starkville Academy then scored on its first two drives of the second half to put the game away. Mann scored on a 9-yard run up the middle to make it 19-7. The Volunteers then made the Patriots pay for a fumble on the ensuing kickoff as Pellum scored on a 2-yard run. A 12-yard run by Mann in which he was stuffed up the middle and bounced it outside to the right was the key play.
Pellum”s 1-yard run with 2:44 remaining in the game capped an 11-play to account for the scoring.
“I think our up-front guys did well, especially in the second half,” Starkville Academy coach Jeff Terrill said. “A lot of times there weren”t things there and they plowed there way. It was a great effort by them.”
Terrill said Friday”s effort and the victory against St. Andrews reflects his team”s physical mind-set. He acknowledged the team isn”t going to pull any punches or surprise opponents. The Volunteers will use a few wrinkles, like passes from Pellum out of a three-step drop, but they will try to do what they do and impose their will on teams.
“We hope to improve and air it out a little more each week,” Terrill said, “but when you have a guy like that who is putting the ball where it needs to go and running that option, that was a great performance by No. 5 tonight.”
Terrill credited Pellum for recognizing Heritage Academy”s overshifts on defense and changing Starkville Academy”s plays at the line of scrimmage. He said the checks allowed the Volunteers to hit the Patriots where they were weaker, which allowed the offense to keep churning out yards.
“It was a great job as field general and runner by No. 5 tonight that made that offense go,” Terrill said.
Senior offensive lineman Angus Catchot said assistant coach Bubba Davis put the team in a weight program in the offseason and made it “work like it has never worked” to get to the point where it has controlled the line of scrimmage in two games.
“In the first half, we did an OK job, not our best,” Catchot said. “In the second half, I thought we came out and we pretty much dominated. I feel like we gave a better effort in the second half.”
Pellum said Heritage Academy did a good job of stopping the fullbacks, but he said he tried to counter by getting the Volunteers into plays that allowed them to break plays to the outside. It also helped that the offensive line that included Tripp Janssen, Collin Stokes, Lane McClendon, Cody Smith, Cole Phelps and Catchot pushed the Patriots back virtually the entire night.
“They”re getting the push and we”re able to have all of the time we need,” said Pellum, who also credited Davis for his work in the weight room in getting the team stronger.
Aside from capitalizing on Starkville Academy”s fumble on the game”s opening kickoff, Heritage Academy (1-1) couldn”t establish a rhythm on offense. The Patriots committed four turnovers (three interceptions, one fumble) and lost running back/linebacker Miller Puckett in the first quarter to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
“It seemed we would get a positive play we would give up a negative play and we would try to claw out of it,” Heritage Academy coach Brad Butler said. “We put ourselves in some bad situations.”
Butler also credited Starkville Academy for being physical up front. He said the Patriots the Volunteers would be physical up front with an experienced offensive line and a bruising fullback like Mann, but it still was difficult to stop the option attack because Pellum and Runnels were able to get outside.
“They pounded us up front and we would get a stop here and there and the next thing you know the quarterback gets loose,” Butler said. “I thought for the most part we handled the dive pretty good, but, in doing that, we let the quarterback get out too much.”
Butler said Pellum did checking at the line of scrimmage and most of it was side to side. He credited Starkville Academy for executing what it does well.
“They”re good enough up front that they can get two or three and get two or three and get three or four and then the next thing you know they break one,” Butler said. “It seemed like they were always getting positive yardage on the dive with the option and they can break one with the quarterback.”
After scoring all of its points in the second half last week in a come-from-behind 37-36 victory at Lamar, Heritage Academy gained only 2 yards in the second half until its final series of the game.
Bell scored the Patriots” only points on a 27-yard run. He was 5 of 12 for 41 yards with three interceptions. Two of the turnovers came on tipped balls, while the third came on a rollout to the right when he was trying to make a play.
Tyler Knight led Heritage Academy with 37 yards on four carries, while Bell had 22 yards on 11 carries. Aaron Studdard added 24 yards on five carries.
On this night, though, Pellum was the difference, making the most of a physical offensive line to help the Volunteers grind out another victory.
“On the films we saw they hadn”t gotten to the quarterback,” Butler said. “They were getting enough on the dive that they didn”t have to use the quarterback. We forced them to use the quarterback and we didn”t defend him very well.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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