AMORY — The Noxubee County High School defense and the Amory High offense were the hot topics of conversation leading up to the matchup between the teams Friday night in the second round of the Class 4A North State playoffs.
Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter injected his team’s offense into the discussion, saying that unit felt slighted because the team’s defense was getting all of the attention.
The only group that failed to generate much buzz was the Amory High defense.
Amory’s defense and special teams might have a case to make that they deserve a little love after they played key roles in a 21-20 victory at Longenecker Field.
Senior linebacker Zach Khima provided the exclamation point by blocking an extra point attempt by Kamal Chamberlain that could have tied the game with a little more than one minute remaining in regulation. Khima came in hard off the left edge and was able to smother the ball thanks a high snap that slowed Noxubee County’s timing.
“That was huge,” Amory coach Trent Hammond said. “We work blocks every day. That is something I have done every day since I was with a group of guys in McComb in 200. That’s what we have believed in, and we have been able to do it all year.”
Shorter called his team’s third and final timeout after a 7-yard touchdown by Deangelo Ballard gave the Tigers (10-3) a chance to tie the game.
“I wanted to go for two, but then again our defense was playing well at the end and I thought we would have a chance to get the ball back,” Shorter said. “I figured they would have made a mistake or something, which is why I wanted to kick the PAT. But a high snap killed us. It messed the timing up. It was my decision to go for the one.”
Amory recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock because Noxubee County was without a timeout.
The victory secured another home game for Hammond, who is in his second year at the school. Amory went 3-9 last season, including a 42-3 loss to Noxubee County when it still was in Region 4. But the Mississippi High School Activities Association’s reclassification moved the Panthers to Region 1, and they earned the top seed in their new home.
Last week., senior quarterback Forest Williams kicked off the playoff run in style, throwing for 646 yards and eight touchdowns in a 63-30 victory against Indianola Gentry.
While Williams was effective Friday night, his statistics paled in comparison to last week. He finished 19 of 47 for 259 yards and four interceptions. He was 7 of 24 for 110 yards in the second half, but he did most of his damage on the ground. The Amory coaches adjusted to Noxubee County’s aggressive defense by running Williams up the middle. The move helped Williams rush for 78 yards in second half. He also had a 2-yard run that tied the game at 14 in the third quarter.
Amory benefited from a pass interference call on fourth down that kept the drive alive.
Williams showed his touch on the go-ahead score, lofting a pass over a defensive back into the arms of Tanner Poole to help the Panthers take a 21-14 lead with 1 minute, 7 seconds left in the third quarter.
Williams also hit Dario Robinson on a 2-yard scoring pass in the second quarter. That 16-play drive was kept alive by a personal foul penalty on fourth down.
“I questioned a few calls,” Shorter said. “They scored two touchdowns on two penalties that kept the drive going. You question the call, but the refs called them and there is nothing to do about it.”
As well as Williams played, the defense and the play of the special teams drew high praise from Hammond after the game.
“We read on SportsTalk that our defense couldn’t stop their offense,” Hammond said. “We talked about you have to play hard. We’re not the most talented team in America, but we are a bunch of guys who are playing for each other and they’re playing for their coaches.”
Shorter also praised Amory’s defense. He said the Panthers (10-3) prevented his team from getting into a rhythm. He said he expected to be able to run the ball, but that success never materialized. The Tigers also only found their passing game in stretches. Senior Terrance Barron had a 22-yard touchdown catch on a halfback pass from Darrell Robinson, but he had only five catches. Ballard had Noxubee County’s other score on a 2-yard run.
“We blew too many opportunities,” Shorter said. “We got down here on the 1-yard line and fumbled the ball. I have to give Amory and their coaching staff credit. Their quarterback is phenomenal. We rattled him early, but he kept fighting and fighting. They have great receivers and they are a great football team. We just hurt ourselves. We shot ourselves in the foot all night offensively. We didn’t come to play offensively.”
“They did a very good job defensively against us. We couldn’t do anything against this tea, and that surprised me. I thought we could throw it on them. They have a solid football team. I wish them well.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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