STARKVILLE - Starkville Academy has waited a really long time to taste victory over rival Heritage Academy - a period of roughly 2,175 days.

     Thanks to a big play offense and a physical, ball-hawking defense, the Volunteers did just that here Friday night at J.E. Logan Field.

     Quarterback Briggs Bennett threw for a pair of touchdowns and Luke Johnson ran for two more as Starkville Academy blanked Heritage 42-0, ending an eight-game losing streak in the always emotionally-charged series. It marked the Volunteers’ first win over the Patriots since Oct. 13 of 2017.

     SA scored on its first two possessions and never looked back, improving to 7-2 overall and 3-0 in MAIS District 1-5A. With a win next week at Magnolia Heights in their regular season finale, the Volunteers could wrap up the district title and earn one of the top three seeds in the upcoming Class 5A playoffs.

     Meanwhile, Heritage dropped to 0-8 and 0-3 heading into next week’s season finale at home against Bayou Academy. While winless, the Patriots had been more competitive in recent weeks for at least a half. That wasn’t the case, however, against the Volunteers, who led 28-0 at halftime, scored another touchdown late in the third quarter to invoke the mercy rule and a continuous running clock, then tacked on a final touchdown in the fourth for good measure.

     Heritage managed just 103 yards of total offense - 74 passing, 29 rushing. The Patriots never really seriously threatened to score outside of two drives, both of which were aided by a pair of 15-yard penalties against SA. They drove to the Vols’ 25-yard line on their second drive of the night before having it end in an interception, then saw a drive to the Vols’ 21-yard line in the third quarter self-destruct thanks in large part to a 15-yard penalty.

     SA has now pitched a shutout in two of its last three games, while Heritage was held scoreless for just the second time this season. It was a dominant performance from start to finish on both sides of the ball for the Volunteers, who have found themselves on the wrong side of such a lopsided score in the series too many times for their liking, especially in recent years.

      Afterwards, SA coach Chase Nicholson chose to focus more on the big picture than on his team breaking the long losing streak against neighboring Heritage.

     “You can’t ignore the rivalry part of it,” Nicholson said. “Yes, we finally broke the streak. Yes, we finally won. But, the way we look at it is that it’s a stepping stone to where we’re going. It can’t be the most important game we play all season. It was the most important game we played this week.”

     The only negative for SA came in the form of 16 penalties covering 165 yards.

     “Anytime you play in a rivalry game, and a district game that means so much the emotions are going to be high,” Nicholson continued. “The guys played with a lot of emotion, and played the way you’re supposed to play in big games. That’s what this is, it’s a big game. It’s a big step for us. I’m happy for our team.”

     It didn’t take long for SA to establish its dominance and dismiss any hopes of a Heritage upset on this Friday 13th. Bennett threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Ben Lyle on the fourth play of the game and the Vols were off and running. As it turned out, that’s all Nicholson’s team would need.

     “It was good to get off to a fast start,” Nicholson said. “You can’t let them hang around because then it’s anybody’s game. You have to come out throwing punches, and that’s what we did. I thought my guys played a great game. We did a great job on both sides of the ball.”

     SA’s defense came in allowing only 8.5 points per game against fellow Class 5A competition, and that number is only going to go down following Friday night’s donut. The Volunteers’ bigger, stronger and more experienced defensive front whipped the Patriots up front, making it very tough to get anything going offensively. 

     “Those guys flew around on that side of the ball,” Nicholson said. “Our defense has been our backbone. We have a good offense, and we do a lot of good things on that side of the ball, but it’s our defense that sets the tone. They did a great job tonight.”

     Nicholson will certainly get no argument from first-year Heritage coach Tobias Smith. Giving up big plays has been a bugaboo for the Patriots defensively all season, and Friday proved no different. SA’s first four touchdowns covered 42, 24, 18 and 15 yards. The fourth was set up by a 30-yard pass from Bennett to Luke McKenzie.

     Heritage gave up a total of eight “explosive plays” (plays of 15+ rushing yards and 20+ passing yards) against SA. The Patriots have now yielded 55 explosive plays this season - 35 rushing, 20 passing. Twenty-two of those have resulted in touchdowns. Those 55 plays have gone for an average of 30.3 yards per play, accounting for 1,666 of the 3,002 total yards Heritage has allowed through the first eight games.

     “They got off to a fast start and scored two early touchdowns on us and we kind of got behind the 8-ball,” Smith said. “When that happens you have to stay in the fight. I thought my guys did that. We played hard, especially in the second half. But (SA) was just too physical. They made the plays and we didn’t. They flew around to the ball on defense and made tackles, and on offense they broke a lot of tackles. That comes with maturity, and that comes from the weight room. We’ve got to get that in in a major way.”

     Johnson, SA’s leading rusher, scampered into the end zone from 24 yards out to make it 13-0 Vols at the end of the first quarter. Bennett’s 19-yard touchdown pass to McKenzie pushed the lead to 21-0. Following a Patriots’ fumble, SA scored again two plays later as Johnson made it 28-0 with a 15-yard scoring run.

     DeQuan Jefferson’s 2-yard scoring run near the end of the third quarter made it 35-0. Graham Hancock’s 23-yard run late in the fourth quarter accounted for the final margin.