How Mississippi State commit Braylon Burnside, QB Trey Petty ignited Starkville's comeback

STARKVILLE — Starkville High School is coming off its seventh state championship, and behind senior quarterback Trey Petty and senior wide receiver Braylon Burnside, the Yellow Jackets believe they can go back-to-back. However, the early moments of Friday's 49-18 win against Noxubee County suggested otherwise.

The Tigers scored two touchdowns in their first three plays from scrimmage, putting Starkville behind 12-0. The Yellow Jackets' first drive stalled partly because Burnside, a Mississippi State commit, lost 9 yards on a screen pass. But coach Chris Jones didn’t doubt a comeback was coming.

All it took was a simple message from receiver to quarterback.

"Throw me the ball," Burnside told Petty. "I'm going to catch it."

Sophomore A’braylen Jenkins ignited the home crowd with an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown following Noxubee County's second score. Then Burnside and Petty got hot.

A 16-yard pass to Burnside started a second-quarter touchdown drive that ended with Starkville's first lead 13-12. The following drive saw the culmination of Burnside's career meeting its future. On the field, he did something he has known since he was 6 years old: catching a pass from Petty in the corner of the end zone.

However, as the ring of a cowbell echoed from the stands, it was a reminder that the end of his tenure at one Starkville school is approaching and the start of a career at another is coming.

An 11-yard touchdown catch stretched Starkville's lead to nine. That was followed by another scoring drive, capped by a 20-yard touchdown pass to Burnside in the opposite corner of the same end zone. Behind its stars, Starkville outscored Noxubee 35-0 in the second quarter en route to a 42-12 halftime lead.

“He knows where I want him to be,” Petty said of Burnside. “I know where he’s going to be.”

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Petty committed to Illinois in May, a month before Burnside announced he was headed to Mississippi State. As other programs continue to make calls and look to flip them, the commitments have brought a level of comfort to the already decorated players.

“It makes it easy knowing that I’m going somewhere that feels like home,” Petty said. “I’m just trying to prove to them that they’ve got a QB1 in Trey Petty.”

If Illinois coach Bret Bielema is watching, Petty made his case with 211 passing yards, 73 rushing yards, two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. The same goes for Mississippi State coach Zach Arnett after Burnside collected 67 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Imagine if they had played in the second half.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State's Braylon Burnside, Illinois' Trey Petty lead comeback