JACKSON — When Starkville High School Athletic Director Stan Miller walks into school Monday, the first thing he may do is make room for the trophy that’s missing.
When Starkville defeated Ridgeland 28-7 last week ago for the Class 5A North State title, Miller admitted after talking with his coaches he thought the program was a year away from being a power.
In a way, the second-year administrator was partially correct because Starkville fell short Saturday in a 38-21 loss to Picayune at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Despite the loss, Starkville is likely to have a team that looks a lot like the 2011 squad next season, which should increase its chances for getting back to the state’s capital city next season.
“We’ll be back. I promise you this isn’t the last time in a while people will hear from Starkville football,” Miller said. “When you reach this point you want to win it.”
Starkville (12-3) was making its first appearance in Jackson in a decade with only nine seniors in the starting lineup. With his head down, quarterback Gabe Myles took responsibility for the 15 Starkville seniors losing the final game of their high school career. The junior didn’t need to be asked about next year’s evaluation because he talked about where he intended to finish his time at Starkville.
“It hurts, and it wasn’t supposed to end this way for a bunch of guys in that locker room,” Myles said. “I’m not worried about a rematch (next year) because anybody that comes to Jackson next year is getting pounded.”
Mitchell was the first to say Myles, a converted a wide receiver, was one of the first reasons Starkville was in position to win its fifth state championship in school history. He finished with 2,895 yards of offense and 29 touchdowns.
Miller, whose first act at the school was hiring Mitchell away from Itawamba Agricultural two years ago, said the program is being built to make consistent runs to state championship games once the sour taste of Saturday’s loss wares off.
“The thing I can’t believe turned around so quick was the mental attitude and passion of this community to pack this place tonight and our place two weeks ago against West Point,” Miller said. “Once we got these kids to believe they could beat anybody and would be supported, they started doing it.”
The Yellow Jackets return every skill position player on offense and three members of its defensive secondary. Mitchell also was the first to say Saturday that the freshman team went undefeated and won the conference championship, so every one of those players will get the opportunity to contribute in fall camp next season.
“This is not new to Starkville because in the past they were here an awful lot,” Mitchell said. “We’ll do everything we can to find our way back.”
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