MACON — Tyrone Shorter doesn’t get surprised by a lot of things.
Earlier in the season, the Noxubee County High School football coach was caught off guard by the length of his team’s winning streak in Class 4A, Region 4 (21 games).
Aside from that, though, Shorter usually is in tune with the Tigers, knows all of their statistics, and what everybody is saying about his program.
That’s why Shorter didn’t waver when asked if it was surprising to him that the 2015 Noxubee County Tigers have rushed for more touchdowns (29) than the state championship squad of 2014 (28).
“Every season is different,” Shorter said. “I figured we probably had rushing more touchdowns this year because we had a stretch where we couldn’t throw it in the ocean.”
Credit Shorter for his honesty about his program, too.
While Noxubee County has eclipsed its touchdown mark from last season, it still has rushed for 618 fewer yards than the 2014 team.
If everything goes according to plan, Noxubee County will have two more games to reach that mark. The first step will come at 7 p.m. Friday when Noxubee County plays at Greenwood in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A North State championship game.
The winner of that game will play the winner of the game between St. Stanislaus and Lawrence County at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, at Ole Miss’ Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford.
Last season, Noxubee County capped a 14-2 campaign with a 48-27 victory against St. Stanislaus in the Class 4A State title game at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville. Quarterback Timmorius Conner threw for 340 yards and four touchdowns to wrap up a season in which he threw for 3,009 yards and 35 touchdowns (nine interceptions).
Conner has thrown for 2,579 yards and 20 touchdowns (15 interceptions) this season, but he shouldered more of the offensive load early in the season when the running game wasn’t clicking. Since the start of Region 4 play, though, Noxubee County has found the balance between running and throwing that Shorter likes.
Even though senior Shunessy Sherrod, who rushed for 1,135 yards last season, is second on the team this season with 341 yards, the Tigers have used a committee approach to fuel their ground game. With Conner, who leads the team with 391 rushing yards, Sherrod, Ty’Quintin Ramsey, Ladaveon Smith, Javarcus Walker, and Jakerrius Oliver have come together to give the Tigers a hydra-inspired attack.
“Going into the season, we knew we had four or five good running backs,” Shorter said. “We were trying to figure out how we were going to balance it. I think the offensive coaches are doing a great job. Each of the backs brings something different, so we have a package for each one of them. It all depends on what coach is calling. Each one of them can do something a little better than the other one.
“It is a blessing for us to have all of the backs we do.”
Shorter and offensive coordinator James Patterson have shown the flexibility in recent years to tailor their scheme to their personnel. In 2012, Darrell Robinson had 330 carries for 2,686 yards and 47 touchdowns to lead the Tigers to a state championship and a 16-0 record. In 2013, Noxubee County tried to make up for Robinson’s graduation with a committee approach in which it had four running backs rush for more than 200 yards. Noxubee County lost to Lafayette County 9-0 in the third round of the Class 4A playoffs and finished 9-4.
This season, Shorter likes the versatility the Tigers have at running back. Smith and Walker also are key parts of the team’s passing game, which means opponents have to prepare for plenty of looks and players in multiple formations.
“In a way, it was by design because now you can’t really get a tendency on us,” Shorter said. “If I was a defensive coordinator getting ready to face Noxubee County, it would be a nightmare because we get so many people involved, so you really can’t key on one or two people. You have to account for everybody.
“We have four or five receivers who get touches. We have four or five backs who get touches. You really can’t get a tendency on us because we use so many people.”
Shorter said the depth in the backfield has created healthy competition in practice. He admitted he feared the chemistry wouldn’t be there at running back, but he credited Sherrod, who is tied with Conner with six touchdowns, for handling the split duties well. He also feels having so many running backs has enabled the Tigers to keep everyone fresh. When you set a goal to play 16 games in a season, that’s important, especially for a team that has overcome its share of injuries this season.
Shorter feels the Tigers are as healthy as they are going to be for the North State title game and will be ready, especially at running back.
“When each one of them gets their opportunity, they run as hard as possible to stay in there,” Shorter said. “I thought there was some animosity at the beginning, but everybody knows their role now, and we talk about unselfish all of the time. It doesn’t matter who gets the touchdowns or carries at the end of the day. We all work for one common goal. Our coaching staff has done a great job helping these kids realize we all have talent, so it is going to be a challenge for each one of you to get 10 or 15 carries each game. That is not going to happen because we spread it around. We let them know this is what we are trying to and people are trying to get tendencies on us.
“This is the 15th ballgame and I feel like all of our running backs are fresh because they haven’t taken that pounding all year. We feel good where we are. On Friday, all five of our running backs are going to get touches. That is in the game plan. There are certain things we are going to run with each one of them. Now Greenwood can’t get a tendency on us. It is the same way in the passing game. We have a lot of receivers get a lot of different touches.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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