WEST POINT — Noxubee County High School senior defensive lineman Dylan Bradley laid collapsed on the playing surface of McCallister Field.
The horn had just sounded and members of the overflow crowd already were trickling on to the field. Bradley’s teammates celebrated, creating a massive swarm with their helmets held high.
For Bradley, exhaustion had overtaken any desire to celebrate.
In a defensive struggle between two of the state’s elite teams, Bradley and his teammates stood tallest as No. 6 Noxubee County ruined No. 10 West Point’s home opener with a 6-0 victory.
“This is why you play football,” Noxubee County senior linebacker Jeremy Hunt said. “You are backed up against your end zone. You have to make a play to win a game. Anybody on the field may be the one asked to make that play. It does not get more exciting than that.”
West Point (2-2) had a first-and-goal at the Noxubee County 4-yard line with 34 seconds left in regulation. Anyone watching this game couldn’t be surprised at what happened next.
An illegal formation penalty pushed the Green Wave back to the 9. West Point finished with 130 yards in penalties. On first down, quarterback Tez Lane carried for 5 yards. On second down, a pass attempt for the end zone fell incomplete. On third down, Lane carried scrambled around left end in an attempt to make a play and met Bradley.
The last of Bradley’s 17 unofficial tackles sprang the ball free. Noxubee County had denied West Point the goal line and snagged the ball under the wild mass of humanity, too.
It was a fitting end to a physical, intense game.
“There was big boy hitting out there tonight,” Noxubee County junior linebacker Eric Hunt said. “That was a not the game for you if you weren’t ready. As a defense, we take every possession as a personal challenge. If anybody is going to score on our team, they are going to earn it.”
Noxubee County (5-0) scored the only touchdown late in the second quarter. Darrell Robinson darted around left end, caught two blocks, and raced 43 yards for a touchdown. A two-point conversion try fell 1 yard short. With 1 minute, 34 seconds left before halftime, the scoring summary was complete.
“We wanted to get Darrell to the outside one time,” Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter said. “We ran that play or a variation of it three times. To West Point’s credit, they totally stuffed it the other two times. Fortunately, we did break it one time. In this game, that was enough.”
After needing five possessions to gain a first down, Robinson knew both chin straps needed to be buckled real tight.
“On the touchdown, we were in the deuces formation and I was trying to get to the edge,” Robinson said. “I told my teammates we were going to score. We just had to keep working at it. I knew this was going to be a hard game. Our defense was incredible. As an offense, we had to make sure we kept doing what we do best.”
Noxubee County finished with four first downs (two on penalty) and 70 yards of offense. The Tigers had 55 yards at halftime. Robinson ran 15 times for 85 yards. Noxubee County was 2 of 9 passing for 11 yards.
Those numbers proved good enough thanks to a never-wavering defense. West Point drove into the red zone three times, with two possessions ending on downs and another on the game-ending fumble. The Green Wave had four second-half possessions, with two ending on downs and the other two on fumbles caused by hard hits from Bradley, who had five sacks.
“Each time we found a way,” Hunt said. “You could sense in the huddle we were going to come up with a way. West Point is so good and they have so much speed. We had to stay disciplined. This game will get us ready for our region games. This is how the defense is going to have to play if we are to win a championship.”
Noxubee County had nine possessions, including the 50-yard scoring drive and eight punts. The Tigers had one turnover on a muffed punt. Noxubee County never took a snap inside the red zone.
West Point ran 61 plays to Noxubee County’s 34. West Point had 134 yards and 13 first downs. Aeris Williams ran for a team-high 68 yards on 23 rushes. Each team finished slightly more than 2 yards per offensive snap.
“There is so hurt and some disappointment right now because this game means so much to these players,” West Point coach Chris Chambless said. “We knew the game would be all about defense. They scored six points and we scored none. That tells you about what kind of game we just had.”
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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