STARKVILLE

Brown to Gardner connection tied the game and all seemed well again for SHS.

A 23-yard Garin Boniol field goal gave the Jackets a 1714 lead at halftime and that was huge. It seemed to give them all of the momentum and took the wind out of the sails of the Cougars.

Starkville came out in the second half and outscored Northwest Rankin 21-0. The Jackets were able to improve to 6-1 overall and more importantly 2-0 in the region.

There were some outstanding individual performances by SHS during the game.

Brown completed 21-of-26 pass attempts for 301 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed 14 times for 53 yards and another score. Helped by Brown, Gardner had six catches for 96 yards and Cameron Hines added six catches for 89 yards. Rodrigues Clark rushed for over 100 yards for the second consecutive game with 152 yards on 29 carries.

With the passing and rushing combined, the Jackets collected 545 yards of total offense. It was very impressive to watch.

The slow start and amount of penalties (12 for 99 yards) still concern Jones. The preparation for Greenville started Sunday. The Jackets travel to meet the Hornets in their next region game.

Jones believes in his team, but said it has to perform at full potential to achieve the highest level of success.

“I feel like when we play like we are capable of playing, it gives us a chance to win,” Jones said.

The second half against the Cougars proved that.

Danny P. Smith is the sports editor and columnist for The Starkville Daily News. The opinions in this column are his and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SDN or its staff.