HATTIESBURG — A small laminated sign taped to the back wall of the media area at M. M. Roberts Stadium hints at a fascinating story in just five words.
“No grilling in press box.”
Below that line — which is printed in bold type, all capitals — there’s a counter: “29 games with no grilling.”
Those in the know say that dates back to Southern Miss’ season opener on Sept. 1, 2018, against Jackson State in Hattiesburg. USM staffers noticed two men dressed in blue taking up a table to cook veggie burgers on George Foreman grills. (How they got a cart full of fixings into the stadium remains a mystery.)
Upon questioning, the pair of conspicuous chefs said they were with JSU but could not produce credentials. Campus police shooed them and their dinner out of the press box.
All that’s left now is a sign and a lesson, and there were more lessons to be learned at this weekend’s MHSAA football championships.
Here are three things I saw as three area teams — Noxubee County, West Point and Starkville — played for state titles.
Lesson No. 1: Don’t be afraid to be aggressive. Friday’s games — Noxubee County’s loss to Raleigh in Class 3A and West Point’s defeat at the hands of Picayune in Class 5A — featured plenty of aggressive play. And typically, the teams that chose to be aggressive were rewarded for it. Noxubee County showed that by throwing the ball deep several times, eschewing short passes or easily stuffed runs in favor of bombs from KaMario Taylor to Anthony Little Jr. The Tigers’ quarterback-receiver duo connected for four touchdowns in one of the most entertaining high school football games I’ve ever seen. But Raleigh was aggressive, too, picking up a first down on a well-executed fake punt early on. While the Lions were stopped on a fourth-and-9 in the fourth quarter, they converted a key fourth-and-2 just before that, helping run the clock out in a 55-52 win. In Friday’s nightcap, West Point showed it came to play with two deep touchdown passes to build a 14-3 lead early. Green Wave quarterback Quinterion Tillman-Evans hit Ahmari Cox for a 41-yard touchdown through pass interference in the first quarter and found Cox deep down the sideline for an 86-yard touchdown catch and run in the second. West Point also converted a fourth-and-2 at the Picayune 44 in the third quarter, showing signs of urgency after falling behind 17-14. Of course, the Green Wave fell 31-21, leading into my next lesson.
Lesson No. 2: Starkville is again a force to be reckoned with. It seemed easy to write off Starkville High School when the Yellow Jackets got off to an 0-3 start in district play. After a win over eventual Class 4A champion Louisville, the Jackets lost to Madison Central, Clinton and Tupelo in consecutive Region 2-6A games. But with its playoff chances in the balance, Starkville righted the ship and played like one of the best teams in the state the rest of the way. With quarterback Trey Petty back to full health, the Yellow Jackets fired on all cylinders from mid-October on. They beat Oxford, Murrah, Germantown and Grenada to clinch a playoff spot and went on the road all the way through the playoffs. Starkville came back in the fourth quarter at district rival Tupelo in the north half final to clinch its spot in Hattiesburg, and once there, the Yellow Jackets finished the job for their first state title since 2015. A move up to Class 7A in reclassification won’t make things easy, but Starkville — with quarterback Trey Petty back for his senior year in 2023 — is once again a bona fide contender.
Lesson No. 3: The best player on the field wins. In college and professional football, the most talented player on the gridiron can typically provide an advantage but can rarely will his team to victory singlehandedly. But it’s different in high school, and Raleigh’s Suntarine Perkins and Picayune’s Dante Dowdell proved that. Perkins — a four-star Ole Miss commit — was too big and physical for Noxubee County, dominating the Tigers’ defense across the board. The 6-foot-3 senior ran for 331 yards and four touchdowns on 32 carries, adding three catches for a team-high 56 receiving yards. That wasn’t all: Perkins also made the extra point after his first touchdown, a 74-yard scamper. In the fourth quarter, with Noxubee County trailing and attempting to mount a comeback, Perkins picked a pass from Taylor off the turf for an interception. He capped the ensuing drive with a 16-yard score and one of his four two-point conversions. Dowdell, meanwhile, had 28 carries for 190 yards for the Maroon Tide, scoring three touchdowns. Chris Davis — a three-star running back in his own right — had 104 yards on 16 carries for Picayune. West Point, led by a pair of juniors in Tillman-Evans and Kahnen Daniels, has plenty of talent in its own right, but the Green Wave defense was no match for the Tide’s top-end athletes.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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