Brice Nunnery's two goals send Clinton past Starkville in 6A North State Finals

CLINTON — Brice Nunnery scored a goal in each half, and the Clinton Arrows weathered the cold and rain to sweep Starkville 3-0 in the North State Championship Tuesday night at Arrow Field.

The Arrows (20-0-1) will face South State winner Brandon, which defeated Gulfport 2-0 in overtime Tuesday, in the MHSAA Class 6A State Championship at 6 p.m. Saturday at Ridgeland High.

“We knew coming in that (Starkville) was an extremely competitive team and we would need to execute against them,” Clinton coach Tyler Wade said. “The elements were obviously a factor, but we started to play better and better as the game went on, and once we got a lead, we kept our foot on the gas.”

Nunnery, the junior forward, scored the first goal late in the first half following a deflection off the Starkville keeper.

Clinton’s second goal came early in the second half on a penalty kick off the foot of senior midfielder Hayden Thomas.

Nunnery’s second goal came late in the second half, after the game was well in-hand.

“Honestly we were just working hard as a team and individuals,” Nunnery said. “On the second goal, nobody following up on the corner. I was the only person paying attention.”

The win was the 11th in a row for the Arrows since a 1-1 tie against Northwest Rankin back on Dec. 6. Clinton defeated Oxford 5-0 in the first round and picked up a 3-1 win over Horn Lake in Saturday’s second-round match.

This weekend’s meeting with Brandon will be the first time the two schools, separated by just 28 miles on I-20, have met this season.

“Obviously a lot of our players are familiar with their players,” Wade said. “So we know they are a good team and we know they’ll be ready to play. For us, it’s just about getting everybody as healthy as possible. Once you get to this point in the season, our job in training isn’t done, but it’s more about resting and healing. We need to get a good training session in Wednesday and Thursday, have a good walk-through Friday and be ready to go on Saturday.”