Last year, Class 5A Starkville Academy put a 35-8 whipping on Class 3A Carroll Academy.
But the Rebels had something else in mind this season.
The Rebels jumped out to a 21-0 first-half lead but weren’t able to hold on as the Volunteers scored 26 unanswered points to take a 26-21 win on Friday night.
The Rebels fall to 0-3 on the season and will host Winston Academy this week.
Veteran coach Bo Milton had nothing but praise for the effort of his team against a much larger opponent.
“We played a really great first half, one of the best I’ve seen at Carroll,” Milton said. “But they scored right before half and that was big. Then we had a miscue and they blocked a punt to start the second half and that set up their next score. I thought depth was a real factor in the fourth quarter and we just ran out of gas. Our kids have nothing to be ashamed of. It was great effort and a great attitude on our part. Our kids were really hurting after the game because they knew they had it right in front of the. It’s just the difference in schools. They only had two guys going both ways and can run guys in and out. And most of our guys are playing both ways. It’s what happens when you play bigger schools like that. But I couldn’t be prouder of our kids.”
Starkville got the ball to open the game and moved the ball quickly up the field but the drive stalled in the red zone. The Volunteers then lined up for a field goal but the fake field goal attempt failed to end the drive.
Carroll then put together a 14-play drive but turned the ball over on a Logan Upchurch interception at the Starkville 3-yard line.
Three plays later, Starkville fumbled, giving the Rebels new life at the Starkville 5. Thee plays later, Nathan Matthews scored on a 3-yard play on the first play of the second quarter. Upchurch’s PAT was good and the Rebels led 7-0.
The Rebels got another break on Starkville’s next drive when Matthews intercepted a batted down pass and scored on a 43-yard return. Upchurch’s PAT was good and Carroll held a 14-9 before a stunned Starkville crowd.
The Volunteers gave the ball right back on their next possession when Garrett intercepted a Starkville pass. Nine plays later, Cohen Blaylock scored on a 30-yard run and Upchurch hit the PAT as the Rebels held a 21-0 lead late in the first half.
But Starkville regrouped and scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter and cut the lead to 21-6 at the half.
“They are a really good 5A program with a lot of kids and a lot of hall of fame coaches,” Milton said. “But they never consistently shut us down. We had a couple of chances to score and didn’t and those scores might have made a difference. But our kids played their butts off. If we will play like that the rest of the year, we will be very successful.”
The second half belonged to the Volunteers. The first break came on a blocked punt on Carroll’s first possession. That gave Starkville the ball at the Carroll 14. Three plays later, the Volunteers scored on a 1-yard run. The try for failed and Carroll led 21-14.
After trading punt, Carroll put together another good drive, going 12 plays before Upchurch threw an interception at the Starkville 3. Two plays later, Starkville broke free on a 65-yard run and hit the PAT to cut the lead to 21-19 early in the fourth quarter.
After a Carroll punt, the Volunteers hit another big run as they scampered 74 yards for the touchdown with 4:23 let in the game. The PAT was good for the final margin of 26-21.
Carroll did put together a 10-play drive but turned the ball over on downs as the Volunteers held on for the win.
Carroll had 161 yards rushing and 82 passing for 243 yards of total offense. Blaylock had a big night with 116 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown. Matthews had 38 yards rushing on 11 carries with one TD while Owen Garrett had 12 yards on six carries. Logan Upchurch was 12-of-22 passing for 82 yards. Garrett had four catches for 30 yards while Reed Thomas had four catches for 30 yards. Blaylock also had three catches for 18 yards.
On defense, Nathan Matthews led the Rebels with seven tackles and had an interception return for a touchdown. Gage Ray had five tackles and Reid Blaylock had four tackles.
This week’s game
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Rebels who will host Winston Academy.
The Patriots are 2-1 on the season. After a season-opening loss to Heritage (50-25), the Patriots have back-to-back wins over 5A schools, beating East Rankin 26-13 and Lamar 35-34.
“They pulled off a big win last week against Lamar,” Milton said. “I hope they are overlooking us after that win. They gave up a lot of points against Heritage who looks to be better than they were last year. I think they are still trying to find their identity on offense. But they have scored some points the last couple of weeks so we have to be ready for what they do.”
Last year, Winston beat Carroll 32-18.
