MACON — Noxubee County looked to make a statement from the jump during Friday’s MHSAA Class 3A first-round playoff game against Amanda Elzy.
A fumble on the kickoff recovered by the Tigers helped do just that as they were able to force turnovers on the first two offensive possessions of the game on the Panthers.
The ensuing short field allowed Noxubee County to stabilize its offense early, beginning with KaMario Taylor under center.
Those turnovers turned into two straight touchdown drives for the Tigers, who scored on five of their first six drives, blowing out Elzy, 39-14.
“We played a good game in all phases,” Noxubee County head coach Teddy Young said. “Special teams started the game with a fumble recovery, the defense had an interception, giving the offense a short field, and we capitalized on it all. That was the biggest thing.”
The Tigers offense was clicking on all cylinders, absolutely dominating a Panthers defense that quite literally had no answers for them the entire game.
By the middle of the third quarter, Noxubee County had activated a running clock, taking a 39-0 lead, and at that point, the Tigers were able to coast, taking out their starters for the remainder of the game.
To get to that point, however, they attacked on the ground and in the air as one gave way to the other, opening up the field in a big way.
“The running game, it opened up everything else for us,” Taylor said. “The chemistry we have, the workouts we do, we’re together and we’re all playing hard.”
Taylor ended up throwing for four touchdowns in the game, two of them going to wide receiver Anthony Little Jr.
Little was one of a few receivers who ended up with big games, including Jadquist Clark and Jaylon King, each of whom had a receiving touchdown of their own in the win.
Having Taylor back under center and playing at an elite level has given the Tigers the extra boost they needed for the playoffs.
“Having QB1 back and having the O-line playing well, we were able to run the ball and throw the ball well,” Little said. “Both played a big part.”
Since dealing with an ankle injury that sidelined him for a good portion of the season, this was Taylor’s third game back under center and probably his best performance during that stretch.
Arguably, the most important part of his return to full health on the field is the success of the Noxubee County running game, with Ledareoun Mosley and Martavius Wicks scoring touchdowns on the ground.
The two were able to cut through holes in the neutral zone and burn Elzy’s linebacker corps en route to big gains and touchdown runs.
Having great defensive success early on made that just a bit easier and gave the offense extra confidence and breathing room to come out and perform.
“Like we tell our defense all the time, if we get stops, special teams gives us a short field, we have plenty of weapons on offense and we’re able to capitalize,” Young said. “That’s what we did tonight.”
The Tigers played error-free football, not allowing any turnovers, and made quick work of the Panthers in this first-round game.
Noxubee County will travel to play Independence in the second round of the MHSAA Class 3A playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday.
Noxubee County 39, Amanda Elzy 14
Amanda Elzy (5-6) 0 0 7 7 — 14
Noxubee County (7-4) 20 12 7 0 — 39
First quarter
NC — Jaylon King 23 pass from KaMario Taylor (kick failed), clock 11:15
NC — Martavius Wicks 1 run (pass failed), clock 8:26
NC — Anthony Little Jr. 4 pass from Taylor (Ekamryn Smith run), clock 3:09
Second quarter
NC — Little 18 pass from Taylor (run failed), clock 8:06
NC — Ledareoun Mosley 24 run (kick failed), clock 4:48
Third quarter
NC — Jadquist Clark 13 pass from Taylor (Smith kick), clock 8:06
AE — Markell McCain 3 run (Kaleb Williams kick), clock 1:58
Fourth quarter
AE — Isaac Harris 20 pass from Jevarion Glover (Williams kick), clock 4:07
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