The Brandon Bulldogs will square off against the Starkville Yellowjackets at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Brandon is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: Clay-Chalkville, who was ranked fifth in their home state at the time (Brandon was ranked sixth). The Bulldogs had to suffer through a 47-15 loss at the hands of the Cougars.
Meanwhile, Starkville got the win against Louisville on Friday by a conclusive 36-16. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Yellowjackets have posted against the Wildcats since September 13, 2019.
Starkville's win came from a few key players Brandon will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kingston Johnson, who rushed for 42 yards and two scores, and also threw for 121 yards and one TD.
The victory made it two in a row for Starkville and bumps their season record up to 3-1. Those wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 22 points in those games. As for Brandon, their loss ended a four-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 2-2.
Things could have been worse for Brandon, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 48-32 loss to Starkville when the teams last played back in December of 2022. Thankfully for the Bulldogs, Courtland Cooper (who rushed for 67 yards and a pair of touchdowns) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
