Jackets see shakeup with slate
Key losses and the quarantine caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic kept the Starkville Yellow Jackets out of the Class 6A playoffs completely and the ultimate goal of a state championship was not accomplished in 2020.
That hasn’t stopped the Jackets from getting back to work in the offseason and striving to get better this year as the spring has sprung and new hope is incoming. With spring on the horizon, so is the 2021 football season as head coach Chris Jones embarks on his fifth year with the program.
This season, SHS will have a bit of a shakeup in Class 6A, Region 2. Gone is South Panola and Warren Central as the Jackets will now welcome in Grenada from Class 5A and Oxford and Tupelo from another division in addition to the talented teams already involved in district competition.
SHS will also still be prevalent in the area with non-conference games as the Jackets will begin the season on August 27 when they host Columbus High School. The annual battle with the West Point Green Wave will take place on September 3 as SHS will play consecutive games on the road against West Point and then at Olive Branch. The team will wrap up non-conference play on September 17 at home against Louisville, which is the defending Class 4A State champions.
Conference play starts up in a big way on September 24 as the Jackets begin a two-game home stand against teams that knocked them off a season ago. Madison Central comes to Starkville first looking to get back-to-back wins over SHS after handing the Jackets their first loss of the season last year at Madison 15-9. Clinton will follow as the Arrows kept the Jackets out of the playoffs with the season-ending 35-7 win.
SHS will play its first district game with new member Tupelo in the Flood Zone on October 8 and travel to Murrah the following week. The Little Egg Bowl will be in Starkville on October 22 and will have even higher stakes this year with a division win on the line and the Chargers have won consecutive North State Championships with a state title two years ago. Senior Night will be on October 29 against Germantown while the Jackets close the season on the road at Grenada.
It all shapes up to be another dandy schedule for Jones and company and SHS is always ready for whatever challenge comes its way.