SA vs. Lamar: Week 8

Photos by Mike Brown Sports Photography

Vols Hold Better Hand

Most pundits had Lamar School pegged as a heavy favorite over Starkville Academy.

Turns out, the Vols had an ace in the hole. Make that a pair of Jacks.

Freshman quarterback Jack Northcutt threw for a season-high 169 yards and tossed a pair of second half touchdowns to sophomore wideout Jackson Knight as Starkville Academy surprised the visiting Raiders 28-20 Friday night at J.E. Logan Field.

SA, coming off a lopsided home loss to Magnolia Heights a week ago, bounced back in impressive fashion, improving to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in Class 4A-District 2 while avenging last year’s 27-7 loss to Lamar in Meridian. The Raiders dropped to 6-3, 1-2.

“It was a huge win for us,” Knight said. “Lamar has a really good team. Beating them gives us a lot of confidence going into next week’s game against Heritage.”

Northcutt, who a year ago piloted SA’s junior high team to an undefeated season and district championship, had been rotating at quarterback along with Sam Wall throughout the season. He played all but a few snaps in this one, however, and answered the call, completing 14 of 20 passes – six straight during one stretch in the first half and six of seven during one second half stretch. Six of those went to Knight covering 89 yards, including touchdown passes of 25 and 31 yards. Northcutt did throw a pair of interceptions, but helped offset those with his first rushing touchdown of the season – a 8-yard scamper midway through the second quarter.

Northcutt has completed 42 of 67 passes for 504 yards and seven touchdowns through the first eight games. Knight, meanwhile, has compiled a team-best 25 catches for 375 yards and seven touchdowns. It marked his second multi-touchdown performance this season for the Eupora transfer, who had three touchdown receptions in an earlier win over Winston Academy.

“Jack played well, Jackson had a big night, but this was an overall team effort,” SA coach Chase Nicholson said. “Offense, defense, special teams . . . we had so many guys make big plays. It wasn’t just one or two guys. Most people expected us to lose this game, and a lot of people thought we were going to lose out. We just kept working. We had a great week of practice, and it started on Monday. Our big battle cry all week was to play like we did (in season opener) against Chambers Alabama (14-13 win). Play like you’ve got nothing to lose, and we played like that. I’m proud of our guys. It was a big win.”

Brothers Bristo and Sil set the tone for the evening with a Santucci sandwich on the third play of the game, sacking Lamar quarterback Sullivan Reed – a Mississippi State baseball commit – for a three-yard loss, forcing a three-and-out and a punt. At the end, defensive back Nate Fratesi sealed it, picking off Reed with 12 seconds remaining. In between, there were so many big plays made by so many, as Nicholson alluded to earlier. Defensive back Thomas Graves’ second quarter interception was one. Bristo Santucci’s 15-yard Pick 6 a few minutes into the third quarter was another. John Scott Lesley’s strip sack with two minutes left also loomed large, as was Brody Burkley’s sack on the play prior to Fratesi’s INT. The list goes on . . .

While offensive coordinator Wayde Barksdale successfully worked in a few new wrinkles, defensive coordinator Jonathan Worrell’s unit was making life miserable for Reed, who was sacked six times. Reed, who had thrown 15 touchdown passes against only two interceptions (0 the past five weeks) coming in, was picked off three times and didn’t throw a touchdown pass. He was knocked out of the game briefly in the early part of the second half, but to his credit he kept coming back for more. Reed had 116 yards on his first 10 carries, including a 80-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to stake Lamar to a 7-0 lead. His last three carries, though, resulted in minus 40 yards.

Lamar finished with 289 yards total offense (178 yards rushing, 111 yards passing), compared to SA’s 244 (75 rushing, 169 passing). The Vols have now won four of the last five and six of the last nine in the series. Three of the last five games and four of the last seven had been decided by three points or less, including a pair of overtime games.

“We played physical,” Nicholson said. “That’s what Starkville Academy football is. We’re not going to out-pretty anybody. But we can wear some people out, and play all four quarters to the point of getting on their nerves and eventually getting them to break. I thought our coaches and players did a great job and put together a complete game, one we can build on moving forward.”

Moving forward means the next game against Heritage, followed by the regular season finale at Hartfield, then the Class 4A playoffs. Speaking of, SA gained valuable power points by defeating Lamar, all but assuring a spot in the six-team, Division II field. The next two weeks will determine just where the Vols fit into that playoff puzzle. SA has beaten Heritage the past two seasons, including a 30-27 victory a year ago in Columbus. Prior to that, the Patriots had won eight straight in the series.

Although Nicholson and Co. have much higher aspirations, the victory over Lamar did assure a winning season – Nicholson’s 10th in 11 seasons as head coach at SA. He averaged 8.5 wins per season in his first nine years in charge, including a State Championship in 2017 and a State runner-up finish in 2019, prior to last year’s 4-7 finish.

The first half was akin to a 11 a.m. kickoff in the Big 10 snoozer featuring Iowa-Minnesota. The two teams combined for only 13 points in the first 24 minutes. SA led 7-6 at halftime with the two scoring runs by the opposing quarterbacks coming on back-to-back possessions early in the second quarter. The Vols’ made their PAT, the Raiders didn’t. In contrast, the second half went off the rails, looking more like an old Pac-10 after dark shootout between Cal and Wazzu. The teams combined for 35 points in the second 24 minutes, with teams trading scores on five consecutive possessions. It actually felt like a tennis match at times.

Santucci got the scoring spree started with a Pick 6. Reed dropped back to pass inside his own 10-yard line and under heavy pressure dumped the ball across the middle right into the out-stretched paw of Santucci, who snagged the pigskin and casually trotted into the end zone. It was one of three interceptions on the night, and the third Pick 6 registered by the Vols’ defense this season.

“I didn’t believe it honestly,” said Santucci, with a big grin. “He threw it right to me. I kind of one-handed it, then tucked it in and ran into the end zone. I was just hoping it wasn’t going to get called back. I was pumped, definitely happy about that one.”

Lamar answered with the first of two second half touchdown runs by Tyler Brown, the first covering 17 yards and the latter from 4 yards out. Following a well-executed kickoff return that Lawson Mullins ran all the way to the Lamar 30-yard line, SA took only three plays to regain the lead as Northcutt connected with Knight. He reeled in the throw back screen pass and eventually found paydirt to put SA up 21-14.

That duo was just getting started. After the Vols’ defense forced a quick 3-and-out, Northcutt and Co. drove 69 yards on 13 plays to extend the lead to 28-14. Northcutt picked up three yards on a crucial 4th and 1 early in the drive, and connected with Knight five times to account for 56 of those yards – including the 31-yards scoring strike.

“The first one was a play we’ve been working on all week – a screen pass to the left,” Knight said. “I saw open grass, broke a couple of tackles and dove for the pylon and got in. The second one was just an over the top post and I beat my man off the ball, and I was able to catch it and get into the end zone.

Clinging to a 28-20 lead late in the fourth quarter, SA inexplicably fumbled, handing Lamar the ball at the Vols’ 44-yard line. Two minutes, 15 seconds remained. Following a 21-yard pass completion, Lesley broke through the middle of the line and sacked Reed and swiped the ball away from him. The Raiders got one last chance following a 3-and-out from the SA offense, setting the stage for Burkley and Fratesi to finally put the game on ice.

“I just tried to fight off that nose,” Scott explained. “Once I shed him, the quarterback was right there. I’m pretty sure I surprised him. I saw the ball in his chest and grabbed it. It was a big play. We had a lot of those tonight.”

Lamar entered averaging 35.2 points and allowing 13.5 points per game against the non-Jackson area schools. The Vols’ defense has now forced 17 turnovers this season - nine interceptions and eight fumbles – to go along with three safeties.

“We did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball . . . they supported each other, and that’s how it’s supposed to work,” Nicholson said.

Heritage will enter 6-2 overall, 1-1 in Class 4A-District 2. The Patriots are coming off a 49-21 loss to Hartfield. Blake Little was the hero of last year’s game, hauling in four catches for 90 yards, including three touchdowns. He also added an interception and a key pass breakup on defense to go along with several big returns on special teams.