MACON — A week off wasn”t long enough for the New Hope High School football team.
Despite having an open week following a 17-12 victory against Louisville in its season opener Aug. 19, New Hope still will be battered and bruised at 7:30 p.m. Friday when it plays host to Noxubee County in its home opener.
New Hope coach Michael Bradley said as many as five players came away from the Louisville game with injuries, and he isn”t sure how all of them will respond for the challenge of taking on another Class 4A powerhouse.
“Noxubee County went 13-2 last year and played for the North Half championship,” Bradley said. “This year, they have a lot of those guys back. They have a great coaching staff. They play hard, they”re fast, they”re strong, and it is going to be a good test for us.”
Bradley said the Trojans have had two good weeks of practice and are ready for the Tigers, who are coming off a 24-20 loss to Spain Park (Ala.) on Saturday in Hoover, Ala. Spain Park is the No. 3 in Class 6A in this week”s Alabama Sports Writers Association rankings, while Noxubee County is No. 3 in the Mississippi Sports Writers poll.
New Hope is also receiving votes in Class 5A.
Bradley was especially proud of is defense in the opener. The Trojans contained a passing attack that allowed Louisville to beat West Point 21-20 in a two-quarter game in the Fall High School Jamboree on Aug. 13 at Mississippi State”s Davis Wade Stadium.
“I thought our defense played really well as a unit,” Bradley said. “I thought we played hard every play. I thought our defensive coaches did a great job of putting in a game plan, and we”re going to try to do that again this week. We have a lot of starters back on defense from last year and we have pretty good team speed, but it is going to be a real challenge for us Friday night.”
Bradley said New Hope will have to lean on its defense in part because the offense needs to replace key graduation losses, including quarterback Zak Thrasher, running backs Terrence Dentry and Johnny Beamon, and playmaker Franklin Richardson Jr. He feels confident the Trojans have plenty of talented players who have the potential to step into those roles.
“We have some kids who can run the ball really well,” Bradley said. “We can”t change who we are. You can”t be something you”re not. We”re going to try to do what we do, and, hopefully, we will try to do a better job of doing what we do than they do of stopping what we do.”
Noxubee County Tyrone Shorter was disappointed his team failed to capitalize on its opportunities against Spain Park. He felt his team easily could have scored 40 points, but it couldn”t cash in chances in the red zone or prevent Spain Park from hitting the big play.
“We”re still aggressive, and we still have all of the speed and fly to the ball, but I think our weakness on defense is cleaning up the little things,” Shorter said. “Sometimes we”re overaggressive. We overrunning plays. I tell them to slow down just a little. You don”t want to tell them too much because it will take away their aggressiveness, but it is starting to hurt us a little bit.”
Shorter said the problem has plagued the Tigers for the first three weeks of the season. He said it is taking away from otherwise “dominating” performances. Last week, the defense had six or seven sacks but got caught in several blitzes that led to long touchdown passes.
“They have to finish,” Shorter said of the players in his secondary. “We work on tackling drills with these guys, but they have to finish. They are great players, but I think they are uncertain of themselves a little bit.”
On offense, Shorter likes the balance between his running and passing games. He said the tandem of Ladarrell Hunt and Darrell Robinson and the passing of quarterback Deangelo Ballard has helped move the ball against each team it has played. But he lamented the dropped passes and lack of execution that has prevented the Tigers from finishing.
“It is just like killing a fly with a sledgehammer, you have to finish it,” Shorter said. “We”re doing what we want to do, the coaches are doing a great job of getting the game plan together, but our main focus on both sides of the ball is finishing.”
Shorter is confident the players will be able to learn their lessons and get things together. He knows this week will present a challenge that will put his players to the test and see if they are ready to finish.
“I am curious to see (if the Spain Park game can be a motivator),” Shorter said. “They saw they dominated the game on both sides of the ball but we didn”t win it because we didn”t finish. … The Spain Park game is behind us. We can build off it and learn from it.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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