From the opening onside kick recovered by Munford, to the domination of a freshman, to the 37-yard field goal that brushed yellow paint off the crossbar to seal the Cougars’ 46-43 win over Lausanne, Friday night’s game was captivating from start to finish.
At the center of it all was Tay Starks, a freshman running back who’s taken the Memphis area by storm. Starks had 40 carries for227 yards and four TDs against Lausanne.
Until those final moments after Lausanne tied the game at 43 with 46.2 seconds remaining, the Lynx always had an answer, with quarterback TJ Jenkins commanding a humming Lausanne offense and the defense securing key stops in the second half.
It was Starks, however, whose reply was the loudest as a 20-yard carry on the final drive helped move Munford into field goal range for Lucas Crowell’s game-winner.
“He’s tough as a two-dollar steak,” Munford coach Slade Calhoun said.
Starks, as well as junior running back Bricen Turnage have formed a powerful two-punch combo for the Cougars. Starks the jab, Turnage the haymaker.
Turnage carried the ball 10 times for 121 yards and a touchdown, adding a 27-yard passing TD out of the backfield.
“It’s a thunder and lightning,” Calhoun added. “But it’s not often you see a freshman able to take the pounding he does.”
The freshman has been key in Munford forming a new identity in 2024 following the losses of standout quarterback Jordan Bell — now at Memphis — and wide receiver Isaiah Cobbs who’s a freshman at Washington State.
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The Cougars lack a true quarterback, but that hasn’t mattered as Munford stretched its win streak to eight games on Friday, improving to 8-1 (4-0 in Region 8-5A), with the lone loss in coming in Week 1 to Covington.
“We thought it was gonna hurt us having no quarterback,” running backs coach and Starks’ father Tim Starks said. “The offensive coaches got together and have helped us have a power season running the ball.”
Not many people, even Calhoun, expected the younger Starks to have the campaign he’s having, moving his season yardage total to 1,260 yards with 20 TDs. Coach Starks and his son always knew he had it in him, though, from summer workouts to dominating in the weight room.
“We’ve been building him for this moment,” Tim Starks said. “He’s putting his team on his back and that’s what he’s supposed to do.”
Everything changed, both for Munford and for Starks, after the team fell 35-0 in Week 1. They haven’t looked back since.
“It was hard at the beginning of the season, I had to get my head right,” Tay Starks said.
“He’s come a mile since that first game to now,” Calhoun said of Tay. “In middle school, he’d run for a touchdown every play, never got tackled. You gotta understand in (high school), not every play is a TD.
“He’s learning to get behind his blockers and do the little things. “He’s a special guy.”
Wendell Shepherd Jr. is The Commercial Appeal’s high school sports beat writer. Reach Wendell at wendell.shepherd@commercialappeal.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @wendellsjr_.
