The second season is finally here for the Starkville Academy football team.
Starkville Academy will end a six-year absence from the postseason at 7 tonight when it plays host to Clarksdale Lee Academy in a first-round Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Division II playoff game at J.E. Logan Field in Starkville.
“This has been a long time coming,” Starkville Academy coach Jeff Terrill said. “The teachers, the alumni, the student body … everybody is excited. It has been a while, so it is very good to be back in the playoffs. All week everyone has been counting down to (tonight).”
Starkville Academy (9-2) earned a chance to play at home in the first round by winning the District 2, Division II title. The Volunteers’ only losses were to Division I Jackson Prep (23-0) and Presbyterian Christian (21-3).
“Not many people around the state would have had this team going 9-2 at the first of the year,” Terrill said. “That is a testament to the hard work of these kids. Our goals were very open at the start of the year. We wanted to have a winning season and find a way to make the playoffs.”
The Volunteers won three games a year ago — Terrill’s first season as coach at the school. Starkville Academy had fallen on hard times since winning the state championship in 2005. The Volunteers closed the past decade with a 20-game losing streak.
“The kids really believed we could have a good year, even when others were selling them short,” Terrill said. “After you win a couple of games, the confidence begins to grow. We have played hard every week. Even when we have been overmatched, we still have competed.
“The hard work started during the offseason. Working hard and believing in your teammates is how you get to this point in the season. At the same time, I am not really sure anyone saw 9-2 coming. When you set your main goal as a winning season and you do better than that, then as a coaching staff you have to a great amount of satisfaction in the season.”
Starkville Academy lost its regular-season finale last week at Presbyterian Christian. Against Jackson Prep and PCS, Starkville Academy had trouble maintaining offensive consistency. Terrill feels the losses and the confidence built from the nine victories will pay huge dividends tonight.
“We will have large crowd and it will be an excited atmosphere,” Terrill said. “The kids have really grown up throughout the year. However, none of that matters. Everybody can play when you make the playoffs. Each team starts out 0-0.
“Even though it is a cliché, you have to play mistake-free football. You have to make plays, take care of the football, and everybody has to execute their assignments. We enter the game with a lot of confidence and look forward to playing.”
A 2-9 team last season, Lee Academy is back in the playoffs at 5-5. Ricky Weiss has returned to the sidelines as the school’s coach. Also the school’s headmaster, Weiss walked away from coaching eight seasons ago. The Colts qualified for the postseason with a 3-3 record in District 1, good for a second-place finish.
The winner of tonight’s game will face the winner of the Washington School-East Rankin Academy game at 2 p.m. Nov. 11 at Robinson-Hale Stadium on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton for the Division II state championship.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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