Jones thankful for chance to evaluate Yellow Jackets
Evaluation was the main objective for Starkville High School head football coach Chris Jones on Friday.
Even though the Yellow Jackets did not get the result they wanted after losing a 14-10 decision in a two-quarter varsity spring game against the Neshoba Central Rockets, Jones was thankful to get his team on the field for some action against a very good opponent.
There was no
spring game at all in 2020 so Jones believes SHS is ahead of the game this year.
“This is what it’s all about,” Jones said. “We are a lot better now than we were last year – I can say that – because we didn’t do any of this. Now we know what we need to work on over the summer. We are young but talented. The thing about getting better with young guys is getting reps. There is no substitute for that. It’s work and experience. This summer we are going to get after and work some camps. We’re just going to keep getting better.”
Neshoba Central scored first in the game when quarterback Eli Anderson ran a 6 yard keeper with 10:32 remaining in the first quarter.
The Jackets answered back when Tyler Nichols broke a run up the middle for an 18-yard run for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 at the 5:43 mark of the first quarter.
Anderson was involved in the second touchdown as well for the Rockets as his 70-yard pass to Ja’naylon
Dupree put the visitors up for good at 14-7 with 4:08 left in the first quarter.
“I think Neshoba is really good,” Jones said. “I think this was a good opponent to play and they play some good football.”
Starkville got a 35-yard field goal from Josh Eaves to get within 14-10 with 43 seconds remaining in the first quarter, but that was as close as the Jackets could get.
There was no scoring in the second varsity quarter.
“At the end of the day, I feel like we still have a good team,” Jones said. “I’m not upset about the 14-10 deal. We had some guys out today, but we’re not going to make any excuses. We had a chance to get a lot of guys in who didn’t get the job done as far as what we expected, but that’s to be expected. We’re young and we need reps.”
There were some bright spots for SHS with Nichols and Jordan Mitchell in the backfield, while quarterbacks Jaquez Harris and Trey Petty split time at quarterback. Curtis Willis had a fumble recovery on defense.
That’s something Jones believes he can work with.
“We’ve got some pieces,” Jones said. “I’m excited about the future. I’m not going to put all of my chips in this day. We’re looking down the line at what we can be and I still think we can be a pretty good team. It’s going to take work, but we’ll be fine. We’ll get there.”
The Jackets now turn their attention to summer workouts and then preseason practice. Starkville opens the season against Columbus at home on August 27.