STARKVILLE — Ben Guest put his hands on his hips and searched the ground for answers.
To Guest’s left, Keric Estep celebrated a 21-yard touchdown pass from Will Lawson Harkins that gave the Leake Academy football team an early lead.
Instead of keeping his head down and allowing the Rebels to keep picking on him, Guest set out to do something about it.
The junior cornerback responded with three pass breakups and an interception as part of a strong effort by the Starkville Academy secondary. Willie Latham, Sam Clark, and Howell Archer added interceptions in a defensive performance that played a key role in Starkville Academy’s 21-13 victory in a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA, District 2 game at J.E. Logan Field.
“You can’t shake Ben,” Starkville Academy coach Chase Nicholson said. “His confidence is through the roof. He is not arrogant, but he knows he has skills and abilities.”
With the victory, Starkville Academy (9-1) clinched the district title with a 3-0 mark and secured a No. 2 seed for the Class AAA playoffs. Starkville Academy will play host to No. 15 seed Park Place Christian Academy at 7 p.m. Friday at J.E. Logan Field. It will have home-field advantage for as long as it is alive prior to the title game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at Jackson Academy.
Nason Heflin had touchdown runs of 11 and 7 yards, and Noah Methvin hit William Wolfe with a 13-yard touchdown pass to account for the Volunteers’ scoring, which happened in the first half.
The defense emerged in the second half because the offense had only three first downs in the final two periods. Starkville Academy had a 40-yard field goal attempt blocked in the third quarter. It also turned the ball over when Methvin fumbled diving and reaching to get a first down after a 16-yard gain.
Archer, a junior whose nickname is “Hawk,” said he didn’t think the Volunteers “played like ourselves in the second half.” Evidence of that came when a player on the field goal unit wasn’t on the field for the missed attempt and in two personal foul penalties for what the officials determined were late hits. The penalties contributed to a scoring drive that helped the Rebels cut the deficit to eight points.
Driving force
Still, the play of the secondary was a driving force behind the Volunteers’ ability to realize one of the goals they set at the beginning of the season.
“We came out slow,” Clark said. “We didn’t play our best game, but we still got the win. That is all we ask for.”
Leake Academy (6-4, 2-2) had one final chance to tie the game after it forced Starkville Academy to go three and out with 2 minutes, 2 seconds remaining. Guest had a pass breakup on third down with 56 seconds to go, but Harkins hit Rusty Atkinson with a 16-yard gainer on fourth-and-8 to move the football to the
Volunteers’ 39-yard line. A sack by Will Miller and an incompletion set the stage for Archer’s game-clinching interception.
“I knew they were going to go deep,” Archer said. “I just had to trust my corners on the outside that they would cover him and I took the inside receiver.”
Harkins was 11-for-26 for 154 yards. His longest pass play was the 26-yarder to Estep in the second quarter, but Archer and his teammates in the secondary had faith they would be able to control the Rebels’ passing game.
“They went deep a lot,” said Archer, who also recovered a fumble. “I thought our corners and safeties held up great against it. I am proud of them.”
In practice, the Volunteers use their first-team offense to go against the first-team defense. With receivers like Raegan and Brady Richardson, Wolfe, and Taylor Arnold, the defensive backs said their training helped prepare them for Friday night.
Starkville Academy had to be ready because Leake Academy didn’t go quietly. Shawn Myers’ 1-yard touchdown run cut the Volunteers’ lead to 21-13 with 6:18 remaining. The Rebels missed the extra point but recovered the onside kick and took over at their 47. Three plays later, Leake Academy had a first down at the Starkville Academy 20. On second down, though, Clark snatched the momentum back by ranging to the right corner of the end zone and intercepting Harkins.
“I just tried to play my technique,” Clark said. “They had been targeting No. 23 (Estep), so I felt like it was coming to him. I played my technique and grabbed it.”
Clark said he “flipped his hips” and ran with Estep to cover him on the fade pattern. He said Estep (five catches, 75 yards) was a focal point of the scouting report, so the Volunteers knew the Rebels were going to target the senior wide receiver/cornerback.
“They tested us a lot,” said Clark, a sophomore, who has two interceptions this season. “No. 23 is a good target. We just played our technique and played great.”
Ready to emerge
Nicholson said Guest, whose nickname is “Big Nasty,” which was given to him by Nicholson, received a lot of repetitions against the first-team offense last season. He said senior Carter Roach was ahead of Guest, so he didn’t get as many repetitions in games.
This season, Nicholson said Guest was ready to go.
“He stepped in in the second round of the playoffs against ACCS (last season) and did a really great job,” Nicholson said. “All of the times he got in the game last year he was making plays. Sometimes he got burnt and sometimes he got juked out on a tackle, but he learned and just kept getting better. That is what he has continued to do. He showed it all summer in the weight room, in his attitude. He is a very high-energy guy, but at practice he is very focused and he does a lot of great things. He had a great week this week, and I knew he was going to have a big night.”
Nicholson said Clark also has done a fine job in the secondary as have Heflin, Archer, and Arnold. Nicholson said all of the players work hard, understand the defense, and want to play in that position group.
“They all could come on my side (offense) and do a lot of great things, but they are two great corners and two great safeties with Nason and Brady (Richardson) rolling in to help them out,” Nicholson said.
Nicholson likely will ask for better discipline this week. He chastised the Volunteers in the second half for not heeding his halftime warning and playing with a lack of focus. But the Volunteers have won all season because they are the sum of their parts. The contributions of Campbell Spivey, who blocked a punt, Guest, Archer, and Clark made sure the Volunteers’ 14 seniors will play at least one more game at home.
Guest said he also knew the Rebels were going to target Estep and that it didn’t feel good to get picked on early. Still, he said he had to trust himself after getting “out-athleticisized” on the first touchdown.
“I was just kind of disappointed in myself because I knew I was right there and I knew one little thing like sticking my right arm up or stripping it out of his hands when he caught it (would have prevented the touchdown),” Guest said. “I knew if I could have gone back I would have done that. It was that feel of regret wishing I could go back.”
Guest said communication was key amongst the members of the secondary. He said each player kept reminding the others to watch the switch, the fade, or the post. Guest said they all were on the same page to make sure someone was there to make a play.
Nicholson knew Guest would be primed to make a play when the Rebels tried to pick on him again late.
“He never wavered in his confidence in his abilities because he has been ready for this,” Nicholson said. “This was his time. They picked the wrong one to keep going after.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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