MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Starkville (MS) Yellowjackets have officially been named to the 11th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its 11th year honoring football.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for the top 100 teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For football, only 50 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 17,000 competing varsity teams. This puts the Yellowjackets ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
In the preseason, Starkville was named an early contender in 2015 MaxPreps' Mississippi
Fab 5 which is presented by the Army National Guard. They were also ranked
No. 21 in the MaxPreps preseason south region rankings, so expectations were set high for the Yellowjackets as they entered their 2015 season.
With five state championships between 1984 and 2012, Starkville was ranked
No. 6 on MaxPreps' list of the top 14 teams with the most all-time Mississippi football state titles. On Dec. 4 the Yellowjackets played Petal High School in the
2015 MHSAA Class 6A state finals in search of the school's sixth football title and first since 2012.
Starkville's defense limited the Panthers (10-5) to a below average 219 yards of total offense and captured the 6A state championship with an impressive 27-7 win. The victory extended the team's winning streak to 14 games and also marked the seventh Mississippi state championship for Starkville's first-year head coach Ricky Woods who has now claimed eight state titles with four different programs.
In their 14-1 season, the Yellowjackets outscored their opponents 514-166 and averaged 4.8 touchdowns and 34.3 points per game. They finished the year ranked No. 30 in the nation, No. 1 in the state, No. 1 in Region 2 and
No. 9 in the MaxPreps south region rankings.
These incredible season achievements have earned the Starkville Yellowjackets an invitation to the 11th Annual Tour of Champions.
Please join us as we celebrate with the football team, head coach Ricky Woods, students and fans on Friday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m. between the girls and boys basketball game in the gym.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the MaxPreps Tour of Champions
site.
