Jackets, Vols continue impressive seasons

It continues to be interesting how the football seasons of Starkville High School and Starkville Academy appear parallel each other.

Both the Yellowjackets and the Volunteers won their first two games of the season, then lost their third outing of the season. SHS fell to West Point, probably the best team in Mississippi, while Starkville Academy lost to Indianaola Academy, which is one the best private schools in the state.

Since those losses, the Jackets and Vols have won five games in a row. They handled their latest games as SHS soundly defeated Greenville 61-14 on Friday and Starkville Academy shut out Canton Academy 38-0.

The Jackets and Vols both are 7-1 overall now and seem to be on their way to the playoffs.

After the victory over Greenville, SHS improved to 3-0 in Class 6A, Region 2. It has also defeated Provine and Northwest Rankin in the region. With each win, the Jackets are developing more and more confidence and quarterback Malik Brown seems to be improving each game.

SHS hosts Madison Central next and the winner could have the inside track to the region championship.

The Vols have only played two District 2-AAA games, but have been impressive in both, especially defensively. Starkville Academy blanked Winston Academy at home 36-0, then went on the road Friday night and did not allow any points against Canton Academy for a 38-0 triumph.

Those results sets up a big game for the Vols also in Columbus this week against rival Heritage Academy. That will probably decide the district championship.

If Starkville Academy can continue to play defense as it's shown the last five weeks, it can finish the regular season strong and be a factor in the AAA postseason.

This city can be proud of the performance of its high school teams. It's certainly a good time to be a football fan in Starkville.

As the temperature continues to drop and we knock on the door of the holiday season, the Jackets and Vols could provide quite a bit of cheer for their fans.

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.