PHILADELPHIA — Three words from their starting quarterback defines the feeling of the Starkville High football program.
“Starkville is back,” Yellow Jackets’ junior Gabe Myles said. “They said we haven’t been a good team in eight years, but we’re region champs and pretty good now.”
For the first time in a decade, Starkville can celebrate a region championship after a 35-14 victory against Neshoba Central helped it clinch the Class 5A, Region 2 title.
The region championship is the program’s first since 2001. The victory earned Starkville (9-2, 7-0 region) a chance to play host to a first-round playoff game for the first time in eight years.
“It’s something these kids knew they could accomplish at the beginning of the season and worked their tail off to do it,” Starkville coach Jamie Mitchell said. “We want to be Division champs, and you can’t get there without step one, and that’s winning your region.”
Neshoba Central went 73 yards on its opening possession on just eight rushes. A 5-yard quarterback draw by senior Josh Stewart (162 yards total offense) capped the drive and helped the Rockets (7-4, 5-2) confuse the Yellow Jackets with constant motion out of a set into three- or four-wide formations.
“They’re a solid football team and really controlled the tempo in the first quarter,” Mitchell said. “I feel like I blinked and then the whole quarter was over.”
Starkville immediately answered as Myles executed a quick option pitch to tailback Preston Baker, who went untouched down the sidelines for a 23-yard touchdown sprint.
“A playoff game at home next week means everything and nothing at the same time because it’s so special to play on your field, but it doesn’t put any points on the board for us,” Myles said. “We know now that if we lose, we’re done.”
A mental error by Neshoba Central led to another score, as Starkville punter Michael Newman was hit hard on a block attempt that resulted in a roughing penalty and an automatic first down. Five plays later, Starkville ran another speed toss around the opposite side for a 40-yard touchdown scamper by tailback Devin Mitchell, who has 310 all-purpose yards in the past two weeks.
Both teams had more than 5 yards per carry in the first half, but Starkville held once Neshoba Central crossed midfield after the first score. Neshoba Central went 2-for-12 on third-down conversions.
Starkville’s first three plays of the second half went for first downs. The Yellow Jackets finally busted a big play on a 41-yard touchdown run by Myles, who eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark for the season with 161 yards (104 rushing, 57 passing).
After Newman pinned Neshoba Central inside its 5-yard line, Starkville recovered the Rockets’ fifth fumble. A number of defensive linemen got their hands on tailback O’Neal McCarty, forcing the senior to put the football on the turf after the second hit.
Starkville contained McCarty until the final quarter when he found the corner on the near sidelines for 36-yard touchdown run.
On a fourth-down play, Myles scored on a 1-yard plunge to give Starkville a 29-6 lead. A botched extra-point attempt turned positive for
the Yellow Jackets, as sophomore Princeton Jones took the fumbled snap and got to the corner for the two-point conversion.
The score for Myles, a converted wide receiver from a 2010 slate that saw Starkville miss the postseason, was his 20th of the season.
Starkville all but clinched the game when Neshoba Central’s wide receiver throwback pass on fourth down was incomplete with less than five minutes remaining. The Yellow Jackets added a late score on a 45-yard fake punt touchdown pass by Newman to Mitchell for the final score.
Starkville will play host to Hernando at 7 p.m. Friday.
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