LOUISVILLE — The Noxubee County High School football team had four turnovers in the first half turnovers Thursday of its Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A, Region 4 game against Louisville.
Fortunately, the Tigers had one more takeaway in them for the second half.
Noxubee County won its 24th-straight region game, but it came way harder than most in a streak that dates back to 2011. An interception by Jaqualyn Smith in the final seconds sealed Noxubee County’s 34-26 victory against Louisville before a capacity crowd at R.E. Hinze Stadium.
“I am not sure what happened to us in the second half,” Noxubee County senior linebacker Edison Little said. “We got to learn how to finish. We were fortunate that one didn’t get away from us.”
Noxubee County (5-4, 3-0 region) clinched a playoff berth with the win. However, the two-time reigning Class 4A State champions have much bigger goals. To reach them, some things that happened in a bizarre second half can’t be repeated.
“We really didn’t bring any pressure in the second half,” Noxubee County senior linebacker Antonio McCloud said. “We were just back on our heels a little bit. The quarterback got comfortable and they had guys run right past us. They went right up the middle, doing what they wanted to do. That’s not like us. It was frustrating.”
Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter knows a state championship team. He has coached three of them. On this night, he saw more signs of how great his team could become. He also saw Louisville drive 80 and 88 yards in the second half to battle almost all the way back from a 28-6 halftime deficit.
“We didn’t do anything different schematically,” Shorter said. “We didn’t bring more pressure because I really thought our front line could handle them. We got beat on some big plays. That hasn’t been happening to us all year.
“Right now, our linebacking play is killing us. It has been horrible.”
Shorter said good fortune helped contribute to his team’s four takeaways in the first half. Each was instrumental in building the early lead.
On the opening play, Little had a strip and McCloud a fumble recovery that led to a 7-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Jataquist Sherrod had an interception. Noxubee County did nothing with that position and had to punt. Louisville fumbled the punt, though, as Smith stripped and Kaiyus Lewis recovered. That led to another score and a 21-0 lead.
The final takeaway of the half was an acrobatic interception by Kyziah Pruitt. Again, the Tigers made it 21 points off three turnovers and pushed the lead to 28-0.
“We work so hard every day in practice on turnovers. That’s a big thing for us,” said Smith, a sophomore defensive back. “We work on the proper technique for stripping a ball carrier or a receiver. We work on reading routes and making interceptions. We try to go into each game getting at least three turnovers. We know they can be the difference.
“As many mistakes as we made in the second half, it was a good thing we had the turnovers.”
Louisville (4-5, 2-1) scored before halftime on the first of four touchdown passes by Deontae Yarbrough. Joshua Little provided what would be a critical extra point block to keep the score 28-6 at halftime.
In the second half, Yarbrough found a rhythm. He finished 11 of 22 for 222 yards.
Noxubee County had few answers as the game grew surprisingly close.
“Nothing is going to be given to us,” said Sherrod, a senior defensive back. “If you get four turnovers in a half, that means you should have eight for the game. We just had a bad letdown there, and it’s frustrating. We were dominating and imposing our will and then things fell apart. I think we can learn from this and become a better defense.
“Starting fast is important. You got to finish fast, too.”
Noxubee County continues to have adequate success on offense. The Tigers look poised to rotate Armoni Clark and Maliek Stallings at quarterback for the rest of the season. Kymbotric Mason and Pruitt are big-time receivers and help off-set an inconsistent running game.
Shorter admitted his concerns going forward aren’t with his team’s offense. The Tigers are doing enough things well there and are continuing to improve.
The performance by the defense was a different story.
“For whatever reason, the chemistry is not there with this unit,” Shorter said. “After nine games, you should have some type of identity. Granted, we are playing a lot of different personnel and we are still trying to find answers. Our intensity dropped a notch and you can’t do that, regardless of who you are playing.
“We will keep plugging away on defense. The turnovers were plays we made, and we also had some good fortune. Sometimes, we didn’t do anything, the ball came loose and we got it. In that regard, we are fortunate to get out of here with a win.”
McCloud led his team with 10 tackles, including two sacks and four tackles for loss. He feels like this team eventually will push the right buttons.
“We are close,” McCloud said. “Other than one play, it was a dominant first half. Last year’s team talked about repeating (as state champions). I don’t think we have gotten caught up in that. Instead, we have just focused on getting better as a team. On a night like this, we know we have to get better. There is a lot of football left to be played. We are confident in what we are doing. We just have to do things better.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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