HOUSTON — As he walked off the field, down the sideline and into the visitors’ locker room, Zack Andrews was limping.
The Noxubee County senior safety was banged up after closing the first half of Friday’s district game at Houston with an interception that didn’t count and then one that did. Andrews’ first pick of Hilltoppers quarterback Red Parker was waved off because of a penalty on the play, so he grabbed another to deny Houston a chance to pull ahead at the half.
But Andrews still had yet to make his biggest play of the night.
With less than 90 seconds to go in the contest and Houston threatening to take the lead, Andrews rose up at the goal line for a critical interception. Noxubee County went into victory formation from there, and the Tigers (3-1) survived the Hilltoppers (2-3) for a 15-13 win.
“It felt very good just securing the W for the team,” Andrews said.
His interception saved Noxubee County after what coach Teddy Young admitted was somewhat of a lackluster performance. Quarterback Chrishaad Rupert threw four interceptions, and the Tigers’ defense blew several assignments that led to big plays.
“To me, we didn’t play our best,” Young said. ” … We didn’t play Noxubee County football.”
But the Tigers didn’t quite have to in order to secure a road win in their first district game of the season Friday. A pair of short rushing touchdowns by defensive tackle Travorus Hatcher, a strong rushing performance by Damien Verdell and big-time defensive plays like Andrews’ late pick proved to be enough.
“At the end of the day, we kept fighting, and we got out of here with the victory,” Young said.
Hatcher — dominant as usual on defense — was a big reason for that. He added a 3-yard score early in the third quarter to his 1-yard touchdown plunge to open the scoring in the first.
“It’s big to have a kid with his type of ability, his size, to be able to punch it in in short yardage,” Young said. “Just having a kid that size who’s used to handling the football, he plays a big part in our short-yardage game.”
Hatcher reaped the benefits of what Verdell, who took over with Bobby Shanklin out with an injury, created for him. Verdell was the Tigers’ feature back Friday, cutting through holes and finding running lanes nearly every carry.
“Damien ran well all night,” Young said. “It just showed that we’ve got plenty of depth in just about every spot.”
That depth showed at receiver, too, where sophomore Anthony Little got the majority of Rupert’s targets. Little delivered several key receptions, mostly in the first half, to keep drives alive for Noxubee County.
“I just put the team on my back,” Little said. “I knew that the team needed me on offense, so I did what I had to do.”
The Tigers sorely needed some sustained possessions after their first drive ended as quickly as it began. Hatcher pounced on a Houston fumble on the very first play from scrimmage, but Rupert was intercepted on the Tigers’ first snap, representing the first of two wild swings.
A few plays later, Houston fumbled the ball right back, and Noxubee County put together a 55-yard touchdown drive. The Hilltoppers answered in the quarter’s waning seconds with a 55-yard catch and run by a wide-open Lavontae Holmes. A bad snap on the extra point left the Tigers with a 7-6 lead.
Neither team scored for the rest of the first half as miscues abounded: a fumbled punt by Houston here; Rupert’s third interception of the half there. At halftime, Young reminded his Tigers they could put the ‘Toppers away with solid play to start the third quarter.
“Let’s come out and play Noxubee County football the next half,” he told them.
Briefly, the Tigers did. They marched down the field for Hatcher’s 3-yard score. They forced a safety on a low snap into Houston’s end zone. Soon afterward, they got a stop, got the ball back and got well into Houston territory.
Then Rupert’s throw on an out route was jumped by a Hilltoppers defender for a 68-yard pick-six. The Noxubee County lead was cut to two points on Rupert’s fourth interception of the game — some of which were his fault and some of which stemmed from miscommunication between the quarterback and his receivers, Young said.
“I expect him to learn from it and get back in the lab and get better,” Young said. “I expect him to lead us to the state championship.”
The Tigers, of course, aren’t there yet, but their ability to close out Friday’s game could be a good start. Both teams traded possessions twice after the pick-six, but Noxubee County misfired on the snap for a punt that would have pinned the Toppers fairly deep. Instead, the Tigers’ punter picked up the ball and was tackled on Noxubee County’s own side of the field with a minute and 27 seconds to go.
But on the first play, Houston fired a deep shot into double coverage, and Andrews came down with the game-sealing pick. Noxubee County went into victory formation from there.
“His ability to make a big-time play in that type of situation, that shows the leadership that we have on this team,” Young said.
Though the location and situation were both different, the coach admitted Friday’s game felt a lot like Noxubee County’s 14-12 win in triple overtime over Houston in last year’s MHSAA Class 3A quarterfinals in Macon. Even the final margin was the same.
It’s why Young wouldn’t be surprised to face the Hilltoppers again in November — though he certainly hopes the Tigers play up to their potential if so.
“I expect to see them again in the playoffs,” Young said. “That was a good football team that we played against.”
Noxubee County 15, Houston 13
NC 7 0 8 0 — 15
H 6 0 7 0 — 13
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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