Football team huddle celebration.
Starkville, Miss. – As high school football season looms, Starkville Academy is gearing up not just for a new round of games, but also for a season imbued with expectations and excitement. Fresh off a successful 9-3 season that culminated in a thrilling run to the third round of the playoffs, the Volunteers are stepping into 2024 with a renewed determination to scale new heights.
Reflecting on the 9-3 season, Head Coach Chase Nicholson couldn’t help but speak of his team’s growth and unity. “They know what it takes to get that far,” Nicholson said. “I think that’s always the fun part about a football team is that you look at the past successes and the past failures of the team before and you know what not to do and what to do.”
This year’s Starkville Academy football crew has some big shoes to fill with the graduation of several three-year starters. However, as Nicholson emphasized, it’s about replacing, not rebuilding. “Every year, you lose great players,” Nicholson said. “That’s the thing we always talk about. We don’t rebuild around here. We refuse to do that.”
One of the standout personalities for this year’s crew is senior quarterback Luke McKenzie. The promising athlete is particularly thrilled about stepping up as the starting quarterback after serving as the backup last season. He said, “I’m very excited. I’ve been playing quarterback my whole life… These past two years, I’ve really had to embrace not playing as much as my 10th grade year”.
The goal for this group of seniors is unambiguous – to drive Starkville Academy back to the state championship. Coach Nicholson expressed optimism for the upcoming season, saying, “This team can go as far as they truly want to, as far as we want to… Will they get it done? We’ll see, that’s what we play the game for. That’s what we play each week for.”
The stakes are indeed high, and the Volunteers have their sights set firmly on the prize. The countdown is on, and on Aug. 30th, they will kick start their season at Lamar.
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