STARKVILLE — Starkville football coach Chris Jones never forgot about his team’s 35-14 playoff loss to Horn Lake a season ago.
Friday night, the shoe was on the other foot.
The Yellow Jackets (11-2) dominated Horn Lake (5-7), scoring 35 unanswered points en route to a 35-2 win in the opening round of the MHSAA Class 6A playoffs in Starkville.
“Last year, I told their coach go get it. (Horn Lake coach Brad Boyette) just told me this year, go get it,” Starkville coach Chris Jones said. “It’s all about survive and advance this time of year.”
With the win, Starkville will host Olive Branch in the state quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Friday.
The first quarter went by briskly, with each team’s first possession taking a combined 11 minutes and 28 seconds. But at the start of the second quarter, Horn Lake got on the board after Starkville quarterback Luke Altmyer was penalized for intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a safety.
Nevertheless, the Yellow Jacket defense didn’t allow Horn Lake to score once all night.
“You want to win a championship, you have to play good defense,” Jones said. “I’m happy that we’re peaking at the right time and getting better and better.”
Offensively, Friday night was the Rufus Harvey show. The wideout came 18 yards shy of matching A.J. Brown’s single-game school record for receiving yards, finishing with eight catches for 179 yards and three touchdowns.
“He’s a special kid,” Altmyer said of his reliable target. “He’ll be remembered here for a while. I won’t be surprised if they retire his jersey one day.”
Two of Harvey’s touchdowns came as a result of Altmyer escaping pressure in the pocket, scrambling to his left and lofting passes to a seemingly covered Harvey. The wideout reached over the defensive back for the touchdown receptions to help his signal caller out.
“It feels like he’s always open when the pocket collapses like it did tonight,” Altmyer said. “Even when he’s not open, if you throw it up and give him a chance, he’s probably going to come down with it. He’ll do big things at the next level.”
Altmyer finished 20 of 31 passing for 272 yards and three touchdowns.
“Everyone knows he can sit in the pocket and throw, but it adds another dimension when you can keep plays alive,” Jones said. “It gives your guys a chance to make a play.”
On the ground, Jordan Mitchell and Amariyon Howard each had rushing touchdowns for the Yellow Jackets. Mitchell had 28 yards on six carries, while Howard totaled 12 yards on four rushing attempts. Jaylen Sulton led Horn Lake with 43 rushing yards on 15 attempts. Starkville outgained Horn Lake 321-128.
With the win under their belt, the Yellow Jackets turn their attention to Olive Branch.
“At the end of the day, it all comes down to the players,” Jones said. “It ain’t about scheme; it ain’t about plays; it’s about the playmakers.”
Starkville 35, Horn Lake 2
HL 0 2 0 0 — 2
SHS 0 14 14 7 — 35
Second quarter
HL — Safety
SHS — Amariyon Howard 7 run (Peyton Rodgers kick)
SHS — Rufus Harvey 18 pass from Luke Altmyer (Rodgers kick)
Third quarter
SHS — Harvey 27 pass from Altmyer (Rodgers kick)
SHS — Harvey 23 pass from Altmyer (Rodgers kick)
Fourth quarter
SHS — Jordan Mitchell 20 run (Rodgers kick)
Team statistics
HL SHS
First downs 6 17
Rushes-Yards 36-119 26-49
Passing Yards 9 272
Comp-Att-Int 8-2-1 31-20-0
Fumbles-lost 1-1 3-1
Penalties 8-60 1-5
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Horn Lake — Jaylen Sulton 15-43, Jamario Harris 8-39, Tracy Turner 13-38; Starkville — Jordan Mitchell 6-28, Ocean Wilson 4-14, Amariyon Howard 4-12.
PASSING: Horn Lake — Josiah Hayes 2-8, 9; Starkville — Luke Altmyer 20-31, 272.
RECEIVING: Horn Lake — Brian Heard Jr. 1-6, Jaylen Sulton 1-3; Starkville — Rufus Harvey 8-179, Joshua Aka 5-52, Tae Lucious 5-36.
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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