MACON — Tyrone Shorter isn’t going to panic.
But the longtime coach of the Noxubee County High School football program also isn’t going to avoid talking about what he sees as one of the primary reasons why the 2015 team is mired in a four-game losing streak.
“It is like this group is not playing Noxubee football,” Shorter said. “As a coach, you watch so much film to try to put the kids in the best
situations, and sometimes I question do they want it bad enough. I just can’t put my hand on it.
“This group of guys makes too many excuses. Sometimes I wonder if they’re hungry enough and if they really want this enough. Some players, I think, really do. Some of the seniors do. But a lot of our younger kids I really don’t think are taking it very seriously. We are just playing poorly as a team. We just can’t get it together.”
Noxubee County (2-4) will try to end that skid at 7 p.m. Friday when it plays host to Kosciusko (4-1) in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A, Region 4 opener for both teams.
The Tigers’ four-game losing streak isn’t the only one that will be on the line. Noxubee County enters the game with a 16-game winning streak in Class 4A, Region 4 action. The team’s last loss in region action was a 14-12 setback to Louisville on Oct. 20, 2011. Since then, Noxubee County has ripped off three 5-0 records in region play. Those perfect ledgers have helped the Tigers win state titles in 2012 and in 2014.
With an experienced group of players returning on offense, Shorter believed the Tigers could make another run at a state championship this season. But the Tigers haven’t found their rhythm on offense, especially in the red zone, and have been plagued by mistakes, penalties, and injuries. The result has been the team’s first four-game losing streak since 2006. The run has included losses to Aledo (Texas), West Point, Meridian, and Kemper County (a 29-28 overtime setback last week).
Shorter said he has been honest with his players during the streak and chastised them for not playing the physical brand of football the Tigers are used to playing. He said wide receivers aren’t attacking the football like former Tigers like Pat Patterson, Vincent Sanders, and Brandon Tate. He said the Tigers go hard against each other each week in practice but haven’t been able to match that intensity in games for four quarters.
“I have been here 17 years and I know how we are capable of playing Noxubee County football,” Shorter said, “and this group is not playing Noxubee County football. To get them to start playing Noxubee County football, I don’t know what else do to.
“We are just committing costly penalties that we shouldn’t be making. Going into the season, I never imagined it would be like this with all of the injuries and the terrible play we’re getting. It is like we don’t have anybody stepping up making plays for us. I never imagined our offense, as good as it was last year, to drop so many balls and to play like we’re not focused. I never imagined our defense, even though we are young, to give up this many big plays.”
Last week, Shorter said Noxubee County moved the ball up and down the field against Kemper County. He said the team broke out to a 14-0 lead and then short-circuited. He knows the Tigers can’t afford to do that this week against the Whippets, who are eager to knock off the reigning region champions after playing them tough the past two seasons. Noxubee County won 9-7 in 2013 and 48-25 in 2014. Those victories extended the Tigers’ winning streak to eight in the series. Kosciusko’s last win in the series was a 36-28 decision in 2006.
Shorter hopes his players can respond this week at home for the first of what he feels will be an even more challenging region schedule. He said senior defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons likely will be out again this week as he recovers from a high ankle sprain. Shorter said the Tigers felt Simmons’ absence last week and that players will have to rise to the challenge and do more to help the defense compensate for Simmons’ ability to do it all.
“It seems like everybody is progressing except us. We are going backward,” Shorter said. “I can’t put my hand on it. At this point, Noxubee County usually is rolling going into the district, but we’re not. I don’t know if it is because we have had so many injuries or we are not focused or maybe I am not doing a good job. I don’t know.
“I do know this, though, kids that really stepped up last year for us are not stepping up for us this year. We don’t have those guys who are stepping up and making plays like we did last year. I think that is hurting us a lot.”
Shorter considers all of the adversity the Tigers have experienced as “tests” his team will have to go through to win another state title. Despite the setbacks and the injuries, he is confident the team still can win a state championship. The only difference is Noxubee County won’t be undefeated. He said he will continue to challenge the kids to rise to the occasion and prove people wrong. He also will keep holding his players to the aggressive standard that has been so successful for Noxubee County teams of the past.
“Everybody has written them off,” Shorter said. “We can either run the table and win 10 straight or get to the second or third round of the playoffs. It is all up to them.
“The game of football is about making plays, and we are not making enough plays and we are giving up too many big plays.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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