Oak Grove holds off Starkville comeback, wins first MHSAA 7A football title 33-28

Michael Chavez, Mississippi Clarion Ledger

OXFORD - No matter how much Starkville (10-4) threatened to score, Oak Grove (13-1) had a response.

Oak Grove held off Starkville's comeback to win a 33-28 shootout over the Yellow Jackets in the MHSAA 7A state football championship game, winning the first 7A title after the MHSAA expanded to seven classes last November.

AJ Maddox, a Texas A&M commit, led Oak Grove in the 7A showdown, throwing for 162 yards and a touchdown in the win.

Oak Grove jumped out to a 30-12 lead in the third quarter. Just as Starkville looked like the game was getting away from it, Petty had a response.

Petty, an Illinois football commit, connected with Philip Swann on a 41-yard touchdown down the middle of the field to cut the deficit to 10 points.

After Oak Grove scored a field goal, Petty connected with Jontavious Rodgers for a seven-yard touchdown with 4:15 left in the game. He finished the game with 138 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception, which Oak Grove returned for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Oak Grove was forced to punt with less than two minutes left in the game and pinned Starkville inside its own 15 yard line.

Petty wasn’t able to put together one more magical drive and the Yellow Jackets’ season ended one win shy of a state championship. With the win, Oak Grove wins its first title since 2020.

THE WINNERS ARE: Mississippi high school football playoff scores: MHSAA championship results

Pregame reading for Oak Grove vs. Starkville Class 7A MHSAA state championship game

Oak Grove vs. Starkville live updates

Trey Petty keeps Starkville title hopes alive

Trey Petty is still keeping Starkville in this game.

Petty threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Jontavious Rodgers, threading the needle in the back of the end zone. He then completed another pass for the two-point conversion.

With the score, Oak Grove only leads 33-28 with 4:15 left in the game.

Oak Grove 33, Starkville 20 | 8:09, 4Q

Oak Grove is stalled inside the 10-yard line and has to settle for three points. With the field goal, the Warriors not hold a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter.

END 3Q: Oak Grove 30, Starkville 20

Starkville not going away just yet

Just as Oak Grove looked to pull away, Trey Petty connected with Philip Swann on a 41-yard touchdown pass down the seam.

Not sure if Oak Grove bit on the run or if there was a miscommunication, but Swann was left wide open down the middle of the field and Petty dropped an easy pass to the tight end. Petty then ran in the two-point attempt to make it a 10-point game.

Oak Grove 30, Starkville 20 | 2:57, 3Q

WATCH: Oak Grove flexes trick play, extends lead in third quarter over Starkville

We've seen AJ Maddox's ability to slice through Starkville's defense in the MHSAA 7A title game. Now we've seen Damari Jefferson flex his throwing ability too.

Jefferson tossed a three-yard touchdown pass to Nehemiah Taylor on a reverse pass play to the back of the end zone.

With the score, Oak Grove leads Starkville 30-12, 5:32 left in the 3Q.

Anthony Maddox responds with flawless, 33 second drive

Oh, this one is getting good.

Anthony Maddox went 68 yards in four plays ticking away just 33 seconds off the clock and tossing a 22-yard touchdown pass to Damari Jefferson with 15 seconds left in the first half.

The last two minutes of the first half has been a shootout in the final game of the MHSAA football state championships.

Oak Grove leads 23-12 at halftime.

Trey Petty, Braylon Burnside connect for Starkville touchdown

Trey Petty was finally able to see some success in the passing game. After he started the game just 1-for-5, Petty completed two passes for 61 yards in Starkville's latest drive -- both the Braylon Burnside. The latter went for 49 yards and a touchdown.

The two-point try was no good.

Oak Grove leads 17-12 with less than a minute left in the first half.

Oak Grove 17, Starkville 6 | 2:36, 2Q

After Starkville got its first score of the game, Oak Grove responded with a 35-yard field goal. It extends the Warriors' lead to nine points late in the second quarter.

Starkville scores to cut deficit to one possession

Trey Petty scored on a eight-yard quarterback run for Starkville's first score the game. Oak Grove opened the game outscoring Starkville 14-0, but the Yellow Jackets were able to get one back before halftime.

Oak Grove leads 14-6 with four minutes left in the first half.

End of the first quarter: Oak Grove 14, Starkville 0

Oak Grove 14, Starkville 0, Q1 | 5:11

Oak Grove defensive lineman and Southern Miss commit Jalen Owens grabbed an interception and returned it 63 yards for a touchdown.

Oak Grove 7, Starkville 0, Q1 | 6:56

Oak Grove running back Kylin Champagne ran a 1-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the game. A.J. Maddox completed all six of his pass attempts for 58 yards.

Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion-Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter@MikeSChavez.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MHSAA football championships: Oak Grove wins first MHSAA 7A title over Starkville 33-28

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