By Robbie Faulk
The Starkville Daily News

STARKVILLE ­— An early interception and ensuing Warren Central touchdown put the Starkville Yellow Jackets on upset alert on Friday night.

On senior night and with the stakes still high in Region 2-6A, they made sure to make amends.
The Jackets responded with 21 unanswered points in the first half and the lead never was seriously in jeopardy as they took home a 38-17 victory to clinch a playoff berth on Friday night.

Warren Central (4-5, 3-3 Region 2-6A) is still in position to clinch a playoff spot with a win over Provine next week or a Starkville victory over Clinton. Warren Central coach Josh Morgan said the Vikings need to approach the regular-season finale like the do-or-die game that it is.

“We have to approach it like that. We’ve been in that situation this year against Murrah and Clinton. It’s do-or-die. We’ve got to get everybody healthy and learn from our mistakes,” Morgan said. “We’ve been fortunate enough to control our destiny all season. We’re still in that position and we don’t want to leave it to anybody else.”

The Jackets can get the No. 2 seed in the region if they beat the Arrows, and can finish no worse than third. With four straight wins under their belt, coach Chris Jones likes how his team is playing at the right time.

“If we want to get to where we were last year we’ve got to play this kind of ball,” Jones said. “We’ve still got a lot of things to clean up, but it’s all about next week and preparing better in practice to get ready for Clinton.”

It was a big night on the ground for Starkville running back Rodrigues Clark, who went for 188 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. Quarterback Luke Altmyer bounced back from his early interception to complete 15 of 20 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.

The Jackets (9-1, 5-1) had 295 yards of total offense to the Vikings’ 235 as the teams were somewhat comparable from an offensive standpoint.

“It felt good to come back out there and do what we do best,” Clark said. “We’re taking one game at a time and aren’t trying to focus on the championship. We focus on each game and we’re happy to get this win.”

For the Vikings, Corey Wilson hauled in six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. The difference was the plays made by the Starkville defense. The Yellow Jackets converted two turnovers into 10 points and a late touchdown from Clark was academic.

Things didn’t start well for the Jackets as Altmyer threw an interception on the first possession. WC’s Kevius McDaniel returned it to the Starkville 22, and quarterback Antonio Thompson punched it in on a 4-yard run a few plays later for a 7-0 lead.

The Jackets answered with a methodical drive that included a fourth-down conversion around midfield. Clark ended the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run and tied the game at 7. The defense gave them the lead just after that as Keyshawn Lawrence picked off a pass at the line of scrimmage and ran it back 16 yards for the score.

Starkville took a 21-7 lead into the locker room thanks to a seven-play, 80-yard drive in the waning minutes of the half. Clark got in the end zone again from a yard out.

Clark had more than 100 yards in the first half as the Jackets seemed to be in full control, but Warren Central refused to go away.

In the third quarter, the Vikings drove the ball inside the 20 and Thompson hit Wilson for a 16-yard score that closed the gap to 21-14 with 4:44 left.

The Jackets came back with a fury on the next possession, going on a five-play drive ending with Altmyer’s 21-yard touchdown to a diving Rufus Harvey to make it 28-14 as the third quarter ended.

The Vikings had a chance to chip away again and drove the ball into the red zone but stalled. They settled for a 38-yard field goal from John William Madison, but with 7 minutes left, the lead was still safe for the Jackets.

“We had a penalty that backed us up and we had to kick a field goal. If we get a touchdown, we’re seven points behind and we missed an opportunity to make a game of it,” Morgan said.

Thompson sprained his ankle on WC’s last scoring drive and did not return. Backup Parker Kivett threw an interception that set up a Starkville field goal. Clark’s final touchdown run, a 55-yarder with a minute remaining, put the finishing touches on the victory.

“We didn’t play very good,” Morgan said. “We had some penalties that cost us that were drive killers. Once we settled down, we were fine. We just weren’t very sharp, and playing a team like Starkville there’s no room for that.”