MACON — To a man, Friday night was about belief for the Noxubee County High School football team.
It didn’t matter that Starkville had scored 51 points a year earlier in a victory against a defense that prides itself on being one of the state’s best.
It also mattered little that the Yellow Jackets entered the season opener for both teams as the higher classification team and a roster littered with Division I prospects.
To Michael Johnson, the Noxubee County team chaplain, none of that was a factor. Instead, it was about belief.
To Tyrone Shorter, the Tigers’ coach, it didn’t matter that A.J Brown had beaten cornerback Deveon Ball for the game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. Instead, it was about regrouping and making a play.
To Jeffery Simmons, the Noxubee County representative on The Clarion-Ledger’s Dandy Dozen, the only thing that concerned him was doing it together. If the Tigers came together, Simmons believed there was no stopping them.
Prone on the 15-yard-line with his face looking to the sky and hands on his helmet, Simmons could only thank God for the strength to play like the state’s best player and savor the energy and emotion that carried Noxubee County to a 26-20 double-overtime victory against Starkville.
“All we talk about is not giving up,” Simmons said. “We always talk about finishing. The defensive front, I take my hat off to them. They stayed low and the linebackers came up and filled. It is just an honor.
“I think we are the best defense in Mississippi.”
Simmons and the Tigers can lay claim to that distinction after making not one but two goal-line stands in overtime. The initial stand came in the first overtime after the Yellow Jackets moved to the 1-yard line on third down. A run for no gain ended the first challenge. The Tigers then swarmed running back Avery Brown on fourth down.
After Noxubee County missed a 33-yard field goal, the Tigers capitalized on a fourth-and-5 touchdown pass from Timorrius Conner to Ladaveon Smith to take a 26-20 lead. The conversion pass failed, which left the Yellow Jackets with an opportunity to win the game on a score and an extra point.
But if that sounds simple, then you must not believe. Simmons showed he was capable on the third-down play of impacting the outcome with his will, as his push up the middle resulted in a blocked extra point that left the game tied at 20 with 5 minutes, 42 seconds remaining in regulation.
On its second overtime possession, Starkville gained 8 yards on a pass from quarterback Montario Montgomery to A.J. Brown. But Montgomery lost his helmet on a second-down play that gained 1 yard and had to leave the game for one play. The Yellow Jackets’ third-down play with Willie Gay at quarterback lost 1 yard and set the stage for an ending all of the more than 5,000 fans had a feeling was coming.
Surely Starkville was going to go to A.J. Brown and give one of the state’s best wide receivers a chance to make a play. Up until that point, Brown had been a handful, hauling in 14 passes for 147 yards.
But Noxubee County senior middle linebacker Qendarrion Barnett believed. He made sure Ball believed, too, during a 30-minute delay for lightning in the first quarter.
“I had faith in Ball,” Barnett said. “Me and Ball had a one-on-one talk when we came up (to the locker room). I had to sit him down and see where his head was. I told him he was going to have one opportunity, and he made it.”
Ball nearly knocked away the pass Brown caught for a touchdown, only to have Brown maintain focus and secure the ball. This time, though, the Noxubee County coaches expected a slant and moved Ball a step and a half so he would be in better position.
The slant came and Ball believed, even if he had to pause as he looked back to let the play sink in.
“I thought he caught the ball,” Ball said. “I saw he was fumbling it and then he dropped it. That was it and I said, ‘We beat them.’ ”
Ball said his hand touched the ball and that the ball fell with Brown as he went to the ground. Initially, he said he felt “heartbreak” because he thought Brown had caught the ball and he had missed his chance to record a win against Starkville in his final year as a Tiger.
When Ball saw what he believed could happen was true, the celebration was on.
“It was a pretty tough challenge knowing he is an All-American receiver, a member of (The Clarion-Ledger’s) Dandy Dozen, and one of the top receivers in the nation. I just had to show him what I am about.
“We have been saying ‘believe’ all week in practice. Coach knew we had a tough opponent, but if you believe in anything you can do anything.”
Shorter emphasized the importance of belief to his team in his post-game remarks. Some in the state doubted whether the reigning Class 4A state champions could hang with the Class 6A Yellow Jackets, even at home. But those people didn’t see the belief Shorter saw in practice all week. They didn’t see the focus in the Tigers’ eyes. Those things made belief a reality Friday night in Macon.
“I believe in all 75 of the kids who dressed out tonight,” Shorter said. “I told (Ball), ‘I believe in you.’ He came in and made the game-winning play.”
On a night when the Tigers had plenty of heroes, Simmons staring to the heavens left a fitting final snapshot. After making a season’s worth of highlight film plays in a span of three-plus hours, Simmons’ performance alone was worth the price of admission. It showed how much heart can drive an athlete. It reinforced how powerful someone can be if they believe.
“Before that (fourth-down) play, I went up to Deveon and said. ‘I believe in you,'” Simmons said. “Deveon is one of the best DBs in the state of Mississippi. They are not looking at him right now. Deveon Ball has heart. He is a big-time player.
“Playing on this team is an honor. We work every day. We are a family here. I just thank God.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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