What a Weekend for Starkville High School!
What a great weekend it was for Starkville High School! During this first year of consolidation with the former county high schools, the excellence just keeps on coming.
Last Friday night, the SHS Yellowjacket football team claimed the Class 6A state championship with a decisive 27-7 win over Petal. Starkville dominated from the start, racing to a 21-0 lead. Coach Ricky Woods, arguably the best football coach in Mississippi, actually took it easy on Petal in the second half. Wide-receiver A.J. Brown, Starkville’s best offensive player, had over 100 yards receiving in the first half, and hardly touched the ball in the second half. Starkville was content to let its stable of running backs wind down the clock, but they easily could have scored more points through the air. It was classy coaching by the state’s best.
Ole Miss hosted the state football championship for the first time. Rotating the site between MSU and Ole Miss is one of the best developments in Mississippi high school football. I was excited for all the players who will have a permanent memory of playing in an SEC stadium, complete with replays on a jumbotron. As a fan, I have to admit it was fun to be there and witness Starkville winning the football championship in Oxford.
While the football team was winning at Oxford, the Starkville High School Robotics Team was dominating at Auburn. The SHS Robojackets won first place at the South’s Best Robotics Regional Championship on Sunday. The Robojackets beat 54 other teams from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee for the regional title. They had already been named the best in Mississippi, and now they are the best in the South.
No team from Mississippi had ever placed in the top three at the multi-state competition at Auburn, let alone won it. Additionally, in the history of the South’s BEST Regional Robotics competition, no team had ever captured the overall championship in the first five years of its existence. Congratulations to teachers April Dill, Ty Adair and Denise Adair (what a power couple they are) and to all the Robojackets who make our community and our state proud!
It is worth noting that a number of students from the county joined the Robojackets this year, and some played football as well. Looks like consolidation has created a juggernaut.
As they say on TV, “But wait, there’s more!” SHS’s thespians advanced to the state finals last weekend as well. Their student-directed festival show, “Eurydice,” advanced to the Mississippi Theatre Association State Festival next month. The show won awards for Outstanding Production, Overall Technical Achievement and Best Director at the 2015 North Half Drama Festival held at Mississippi State University. Reese Dunne, Sam Turner, and Jasmine Warnock earned All-Star Cast honors for their performances.
Did I mention that Starkville High School is one of only two schools in Mississippi to be recognized as an Advanced Placement school of excellence?
Quality and excellence in academics, athletics and extracurricular activities are hallmarks of the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. It would be hard for any other district in the state to match what our students did last weekend. Way to go Jackets!
Brother Rogers works at the Stennis Center for Public Service and is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News.
Last Friday night, the SHS Yellowjacket football team claimed the Class 6A state championship with a decisive 27-7 win over Petal. Starkville dominated from the start, racing to a 21-0 lead. Coach Ricky Woods, arguably the best football coach in Mississippi, actually took it easy on Petal in the second half. Wide-receiver A.J. Brown, Starkville’s best offensive player, had over 100 yards receiving in the first half, and hardly touched the ball in the second half. Starkville was content to let its stable of running backs wind down the clock, but they easily could have scored more points through the air. It was classy coaching by the state’s best.
Ole Miss hosted the state football championship for the first time. Rotating the site between MSU and Ole Miss is one of the best developments in Mississippi high school football. I was excited for all the players who will have a permanent memory of playing in an SEC stadium, complete with replays on a jumbotron. As a fan, I have to admit it was fun to be there and witness Starkville winning the football championship in Oxford.
While the football team was winning at Oxford, the Starkville High School Robotics Team was dominating at Auburn. The SHS Robojackets won first place at the South’s Best Robotics Regional Championship on Sunday. The Robojackets beat 54 other teams from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee for the regional title. They had already been named the best in Mississippi, and now they are the best in the South.
No team from Mississippi had ever placed in the top three at the multi-state competition at Auburn, let alone won it. Additionally, in the history of the South’s BEST Regional Robotics competition, no team had ever captured the overall championship in the first five years of its existence. Congratulations to teachers April Dill, Ty Adair and Denise Adair (what a power couple they are) and to all the Robojackets who make our community and our state proud!
It is worth noting that a number of students from the county joined the Robojackets this year, and some played football as well. Looks like consolidation has created a juggernaut.
As they say on TV, “But wait, there’s more!” SHS’s thespians advanced to the state finals last weekend as well. Their student-directed festival show, “Eurydice,” advanced to the Mississippi Theatre Association State Festival next month. The show won awards for Outstanding Production, Overall Technical Achievement and Best Director at the 2015 North Half Drama Festival held at Mississippi State University. Reese Dunne, Sam Turner, and Jasmine Warnock earned All-Star Cast honors for their performances.
Did I mention that Starkville High School is one of only two schools in Mississippi to be recognized as an Advanced Placement school of excellence?
Quality and excellence in academics, athletics and extracurricular activities are hallmarks of the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. It would be hard for any other district in the state to match what our students did last weekend. Way to go Jackets!
Brother Rogers works at the Stennis Center for Public Service and is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News.