STARKVILLE — Rontavis Clark is a confident person.
The Starkville High School senior wide receiver says he has always been that way. He can remember playing for the Starkville Cowboys at 7-years old and trying to show everybody up on the field. That’s when his confidence really took off. He was playing at West Lowndes High School last season, but he transferred to Starkville in the spring and soon learned Class 6A football is more demanding than Class 1A football.
“It’s been a big difference down here,” Clark said. “It’s more work. Your position can be took at anytime, but I’ve got the talent to play with them.”
The confidence of Clark and other skill players on the offense will help take some pressure off the Jackets’ top offensive performer, wide receiver A.J. Brown, as playoffs begin. Starkville (10-1) plays host to Olive Branch (6-5) 7 p.m. Friday night in the first round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A playoffs. The Jackets are the No. 1 seed out of Region 2, while the Conquistadors are the No. 4 seed out of Region 1.
Brown, the top wideout in the state of Mississippi, leads Starkville with 64 catches for 1,073 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. He has several Division I offers including Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Alabama.
Senior quarterback Montario Montgomery looks to Brown often when the ball is snapped back to him, and it’s showed. But even still, Montgomery knows the offense is more than what the senior wide receiver brings to the table.
“A.J. is not Starkville, he’s not our offense,” Montgomery said. “He’s a big part of our offense, but he’s just not solely our offense. We have so many other weapons.”
And he’s right. Clark has stepped up numerous times this season and has 17 catches for 288 yards and four touchdowns.
Teams have paid a lot of attention to Brown and he has drawn double teams from nearly every team the Jackets have played this season. That’s just opened the door for players like Clark in the passing game.
“I just want opportunities to make plays,” Clark said. “When you call my number, I’m going to make a play. He’s a big part of our offense, but when coach calls my number, I’m going to make a play for my team.
“When they bracket him, it gives me more time to get open.”
Montgomery is in his first season as the starter. He sat behind Brady Davis, who is now at the University of Memphis, last year and learned a lot. He has completed 134 of 243 passes for 2,023 yards and 21 touchdowns. He has thrown 11 interceptions and has a completion percentage of 55 percent.
Montgomery has also used his feet to get out of trouble and when nothing is open in the passing game. He has rushed for 194 yards and eight touchdowns. Montgomery has improved as the season has gone on, and he feels confident that he’s another weapon in this offense.
“I think if given just a little bit of time, I can find somebody open,” Montgomery said. “If I can’t, like coach always told me, ‘If there’s nothing there, just try to get 2 or 3 yards.'”
Along with Clark, Montgomery has relied on senior running back Avery Brown out of the backfield. He is the team’s second-leading receiver with 22 catches for 302 yards and two touchdowns.
Avery has also been a big threat in the running game and is the featured tailback in the offense. He has rushed for 1,020 yards on 218 carries and 10 touchdowns.
In his last two, games Brown has rushed for more than 100 yards.
“We have to step up to take the pressure off A.J. most of the time,” Avery said.
But even with double teams and knowing they are going to try to stop him, A.J. has produced time and time again this season. But there have been times when other players have been wide open because of the attention A.J. attracts. Senior tight end Parker Lemm found himself wide open several times against Warren Central Oct. 30. He had had two catches for 39 yards and a 15-yard touchdown in the win over the Vikings.
Junior Tavian Clark has 10 catches for 192 yards and four touchdowns, while junior Luke Davis has nine catches for 127 yards and senior Milton Smith Jr. has eight catches for 89 yards.
“They’re huge for us going every week because everybody gameplans for A.J.,” Montgomery said. “We have so many weapons, like Avery, like Smoke (Clark), like Milton. We have so many weapons that can hit you anywhere. All you have to do is get them the ball and they make plays.”
After losing to Noxubee County High School on the road in the season opener, Starkville has reeled off 10-straight wins. The offense has been a big part of the success this season, but lately they have found their groove.
The Jackets have totaled 115 points in the last three games — wins over Murrah, Warren Central, and Clinton to clinch the division title.
“We’re peaking at the right time,” Montgomery said. “We are all gelling as one big group right now. We are finding our identity, so we know what we can do and what we can’t do week in and week out.”
In order to continue that success, A.J. still needs to be a big part of the offense and he will be. But guys like Clark may take on a bigger role with just three wins standing between the Jackets and an appearance in the Class 6A State championship game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on the campus of Ole Miss in Oxford.
“In the playoffs, I believe team’s are going to bracket A.J. and I’m going to make a big play,” Clark said with confidence.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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