6A Playoff Breakdown

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The old saying is that if you are still playing in the state of Mississippi come Thanksgiving that you are doing something right. For the four remaining teams in 6A, they are right where they want to be this week. Let's breakdown the final four for the 6A state title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>North Half</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Starkville (10-3) @ Tupelo (13-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How they got here: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Starkville squeaked into the playoffs as the #4 seed from Region 2. The Jackets have spent their entire playoff journey on the road after knocking off Region 1 #1 seed Southaven 38-12 in the first round. As Coach Chris Jones' squad moved forward they bested Clinton 30-2 last week. Now the only thing separating the Yellow Jackets from a shot at a state championship is a date with Tupelo on the blue turf this Friday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tupelo won region 1 and as a result has played at home thru the duration of the playoffs. Round 1 saw the Golden Wave trounce Lewisburg 42-0. Round 2 saw Tupelo face off with defending state champ Madison Central in which the Wave won 28-7.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Matchup history:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>10/7/22 - Tupelo 24 Starkville 17</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Everyone knew the Golden Wave was for real when they went into Starkville in early October and knocked off traditional power, Starkville. Tupelo QB Jeremiah Harrel was stellar throwing for 221 yards and 2 TD but it was the defense forcing two fumbles in the 4th qtr that really made the difference. The story of the game for Starkville, in addition to the turnovers, was the absence of QB [player_tooltip player_id='273258' first='Trey' last='Petty'] who did not play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Names to watch for:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tupelo: [player_tooltip player_id='108897' first='Zay' last='Alexander'], Jeremiah Harrel, Tristen Jernigan, Qua Middlebrooks</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Starkville: [player_tooltip player_id='273258' first='Trey' last='Petty'], [player_tooltip player_id='139597' first='Braylon' last='Burnside'], Curtis Willis</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>South Half</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brandon (11-1) @ Ocean Springs (12-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How they got here:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brandon was the consensus number 1 team in the state coming into the year and with the exception of a mid-season slip up to Oak Grove has played like it. The Bulldogs opened their playoff run with a convincing victory over Hancock 42-7. The second round matched up the Dogs with Warren Central in which Brandon won in a tight one possession game, 36-28. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ocean Springs went undefeated for the second straight regular season on the back of QB [player_tooltip player_id='108938' first='Bray' last='Hubbard'] who has cemented himself as a legend on the gulf coast. Round 1 saw the Region 4 #1 seed take care of business with Northwest Rankin 49-21. The second round saw the Greyhounds knock off Oak Grove, who happened to eliminate them in the 2021 playoffs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Matchup history:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two teams did not play in the regular season but do have 3 common opponents in Clinton, Hancock and Northwest Rankin with both teams going 3-0 in those matchups.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Names to watch for:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brandon: [player_tooltip player_id='273250' first='Landon' last='Varnes'], Nate Blount, [player_tooltip player_id='108964' first='Jarvis' last='Durr'], [player_tooltip player_id='107036' first='Lester' last='Miller'], [player_tooltip player_id='350934' first='Quincy' last='Phillips']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ocean Springs: [player_tooltip player_id='108938' first='Bray' last='Hubbard'], Will Gray, John Paul Coulter</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->