MACON — Trust DeAngelo Ballard. Not only can you feel someone closing in behind you, but you also can hear him coming.
It certainly helps when the individual zeroing in on the No. 18 on the back of your jersey is listed at 255 pounds.
Thankfully for the Noxubee County High School football team, Ballard has good hearing and has worked on his escapability.
Ballard’s ability to make plays and to read defenses were on display Friday night in No. 2 Noxubee County’s 40-13 victory against Houston in a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A, Region game at Tiger Stadium.
With the victory, Noxubee County (9-0, 3-0 region) set up a matchup against Louisville (6-3, 3-0), which defeated Caledonia 33-13 Friday night, at 7 p.m. Thursday that likely will decide the top seed in the region. Last season, Louisville edged Noxubee County 14-12 in Macon on the regionally televised C Spire Bright Lights Football game.
Against Houston, Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter wasn’t pleased with his players after the game and he stressed they will need to elevate their play on both sides of the ball if they are going to have a chance against Louisville.
“We played terrible in the first half,” Shorter said. “Give credit to Houston. They came out with a good game plan and put everybody in the box. We had to figure out their defensive scheme. I think we did a better job in the second half and went to some things and caught them off guard and moved the ball a little bit in the second half
“In the first half, they stopped the run. We got to get better in the passing game. If we don’t get better in the passing game we’re going to be hurting. We’re going to have to go back to the drawing board and work on our passing game a little bit more because Houston exploited us tonight.”
Despite not being satisfied with his team’s performance, Shorter said he has confidence in Ballard, his senior quarterback, and his receivers. Ballard justified that confidence by throwing touchdowns on three of his five completions. Unfortunately, he threw nine incompletions, including an interception, and had only 82 yards passing.
Still, Ballard’s elusiveness and comfort and confidence at the position proved to be the difference. On the first play of the game, Ballard showed his poise under center. Instead of going with the play offensive coordinator James Patterson signaled in, Ballard read the defense and audibled at the line of scrimmage. His new play was a quick-hitter to wide receiver Fernando Phillips on the left side. Phillips used blockers to get to the corner and then raced 53 yards for the touchdown.
“The guy who was covering him was like 15 yards off and I knew Charles (Hughes) would make the block on the other guy, and I knew Fernando had a lot of speed,” Ballard said. “I saw it because I knew No. 11 was going to shoot up and Fernando was going to go outside of him.”
Last year, Ballard said he wasn’t into watching film or scanning the defense to be able to make those pre-snap reads. Early in the season, Shorter talked to Ballard and stressed to him it was crucial that he be the best player on the field, especially if the Tigers are going to get back to Jackson.
It took time for Noxubee County to pull away. Ballard threw an interception on the Tigers’ next series. Mississippi State University commitment Chris Jones, a 6-foot-6, 255-pound defensive end, sacked Ballard on the Tigers’ third possession to thwart that drive.
Ballard responded on the next series with maneuverability that would make Michael Vick proud. Noxubee County capitalized on a snap that went through the hands of punter Emmitt Dendy to have a first-and-goal at the Houston 10-yard line. A holding penalty negated a 3-yard touchdown run by Robinson and pushed Noxubee County back to the 13. Instead of trying to kick a field goal, the Tigers went for it on fourth-and-goal. Jones flushed Ballard from the pocket and appeared to have him targeted for a significant loss as he chased him toward the Houston sideline. But Ballard turned quickly to his left to avoid Jones. The pivot made Jones fall and allowed Ballard to continue back toward the middle of the field without someone tracking him down. As he moved left, Ballard saw senior Javancy Jones open in the corner of the end zone. He picked Jones up just in time, lofting a pass in his direction that Jones caught just before a defender raced onto the scene for a touchdown.
“You hear the footsteps,” Ballard said. “I stepped and I heard him and I reversed the field so I had room to throw the ball.”
Ballard said Noxubee County has run the play before under similar pressure situations. After missing on previous attempts, Jones pleaded with Ballard to give him a chance to make a play, so that’s what he did this time.
“I knew (Jones) wasn’t going to be able to re-direct as fast as I was because he is carrying a little more than I am,” Ballard said. “(Javancy Jones) told me, ‘Just throw it up and I will get it,’ and he went up and got it.”
While Ballard impressed with his improvisation, Darrell Robinson got stronger as the game went on. Noxubee County capitalized on another high snap that went through the punter’s hands to take control at the Houston 20 with 6 minutes, 9 seconds to play in the second quarter. Following two runs by Robinson (22 carries, 117 yards, two rushing touchdowns, one punt return for a touchdown), Ballard scrambled for a 7-yard game that gave the Tigers a first-and-goal at the 9. Chris Jones appeared to be in position to keep Ballard from getting the first down, but Noxubee County’s faster pace on offense appeared to tire the senior lineman. Ballard hit Nathaniel Peterson on a slant pass for a touchdown on the next play.
Robinson, who had 102 of his rushing yards in the second half, also scored on a 70-yard punt return. He said Ballard has matured as a leader and has learned valuable lessons in the past year since Noxubee County lost to Amory 21-20 in the second round of the Class 4A North State playoffs.
This year, Noxubee County appears to have the offensive line and the running game to go deeper into the playoffs. Ballard believes the Tigers can get back to Jackson and try to make history, just like the 2008 state title team it often is compared to.
Robinson also feels Ballard can help Noxubee County get back to Jackson and help it add to its title total.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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