Starkville Academy has been away from home for two games now, but on Friday they'll finally make their return. They will host the Jackson Academy Raiders at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
If Jackson Academy heads into halftime all tied up, they better play a good second half: that's when Starkville Academy took over last week. Starkville Academy secured a 20-14 W over Pillow Academy last Friday. That six point margin sets a new team best for the Volunteers this season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Jackson Academy). They breezed by St. Joseph Catholic at home to the tune of 56-7 on Friday. Considering the Raiders have won four matchups by more than 23 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Omarean Ellis continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 245 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 15.3 yards per carry. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in August of 2023. The team also got some help courtesy of John Thomas, who picked up 99 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Jackson Academy didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Dereon Albert and Baird Kennedy. Albert is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last four games he's played dating back to last season.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Jackson Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 347 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Starkville Academy's victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 3-4. As for Jackson Academy, their win was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-1.
Starkville Academy suffered a grim 29-7 defeat to Jackson Academy in their previous meeting back in October of 2023. That match was all but decided by halftime, at which point Starkville Academy was down 22-0.
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