MACON — The week before one of the biggest rival games on his team”s schedule, Noxubee County High School football coach Tyrone Shorter decided to try somebody new at quarterback.
The Tigers gave senior Kamal Chamberlain his first start under center and the 5-foot-7 senior led Noxubee County to a 22-17 victory against two-time Class 5A state champion West Point.
The victory in front of the home crowd in Macon ended a two-game losing streak for the Tigers in the annual series.
“No matter what the records are this game is two winning tradition teams, and we knew it would be a battle,” Shorter said. “It says a lot about our program that beat a program like this.”
Chamberlain, who finished with 221 yards and two touchdowns through the air, consistently beat West Point (1-3) on deep routes to senior receiver Terrence Barron
After the game, Chamberlain was presented with the game ball and had a pair of his offensive lineman teammates lift him up on their shoulders for a victory lap around the field.
West Point scored first on a 13-play drive that included four third-down conversions. It ended with junior Tez Lane taking the ball up the middle for a 3-yard touchdown.
Noxubee County (4-1), ranked No. 3 in the state”s Associated Press Class 4A poll, went to the untried passing game but that”s when Chamberlain began to find Barron. Barron caught a pass down the sideline on a third-and-seven situation, and then hauled in a 22-yard touchdown pass while eluding two defenders on his way to the end zone.
“We move (Chamberlain) from receiver last week for the first time and he played one heck of a ball game,” Shorter said, who was forced to make the move after starting quarterback Deangelo Ballard was injured against New Hope on Sept. 2.
West Point extended the lead to 14-6 on a 10-yard run by Aeris
Williams. Quarterback DeQuentin Spraggins set up the score by rolling to his right on fourth-and-5 to hit tight end T.J. Minor to extend the drive.
Noxubee County tied the score on four consecutive completions by Chamberlain, including one on a third-and-31 situation from the Tigers” 6-yard-line.
“We”re going to take chances and play aggressive no matter the
situation, and our kids love that about us,” Shorter said. “Sometimes it pays off, and tonight it certainly did.”
Chamberlain found a double-covered Barron down the sidelines for a 34-yard gain and a 33-yard gain on the next snap on a throw that looked to be the same play.
Barron finished with six catches for 189 yards and two touchdowns.
“(Barron) has had big games against us every year and we double-covered him but he still made plays,” West Point coach Chris Chambless said. “My door is wide open after this one because this one is on me. I”ll have us better prepared to play next week.”
Noxubee County tied the score at 14 when West Point forgot to cover junior Charles Hughes on a 23-yard fade route in the corner of the end zone. On the two-point play, the Tigers went back to their perfect combination as Chamberlain rolled right and found Barron.
On the first drive of the second half, West Point was stopped as Lane was sent backward on a fourth-and-inches carry to give Noxubee County wonderful field position inside the opponent”s 40-yard-line.
The Tigers took their first and final lead of the night five plays later when junior tailback Darrell Robinson found the end zone from 2 yards out.
After Noxubee County took its first lead, Spraggins was intercepted on two of the next three drives by senior defensive back Devion Pruitt.
“These guys never quit, and that”s what we preach that we have to
finish,” Shorter said. “We have a young football team that fell behind but didn”t pack it in.”
Noxubee County will travel to Kemper County on Friday before it begins region play in two weeks, while West Point will look to put its slow start behind it Friday when it begins region play at Lake Cormorant.
“We had the toughest non district I”ve ever had here and maybe we”ll learn from these situations moving forward,” Chambless said.
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