MACON — Tyrone Shorter isn’t going to panic.
The Noxubee County High School football coach accepted the blame for his team’s 43-3 loss to Starkville on Friday night in the season opener for both teams. Shorter also acknowledged there are plenty of areas Noxubee County can improve in as it continues preparations to play host to Columbus at 7 p.m. Friday.
But Shorter looked calm and collected as he broke down the cramping, penalties, missed tackles, and squandered scoring opportunities that plagued his team in the loss. He has faith that this year’s group can follow a similar path that the 2014 squad took after a 51-19 loss to Starkville in its season opener. Noxubee County responded from that setback to win the first of back-to-back Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A State titles.
Shorter didn’t make any excuses for having five or six defensive players out of the game at times with cramps. He said the Tigers should have been better prepared.
“I blame me. I didn’t have my team ready to play,” Shorter said. “We are a whole lot better than that. We just weren’t ready to play.”
Shorter credited Starkville and coach Chris Jones. He said his team “didn’t play Noxubee County football” and was “embarrassed” as a result of it. Shorter said the Tigers responded well Monday in their first day of practice. He said all of the players stayed late to get extra repetitions and to do more conditioning. Shorter hopes the lessons from the loss sink in quickly because things don’t get any easier. Noxubee County will play at Shannon and at Meridian in the next two weeks, will play host to Class 5A State champion West Point, and then will travel to Louisiana to face West Monroe High before playing host to Louisville in its Class 4A, Region 4 opener.
“The last time we got embarrassed and got our tails whooped like that, it is up to the players. What are you going to do now?” Shorter said. “Are you going to tuck your tail and go somewhere and hide, or are you going to make yourself better and move on?”
Shorter highlighted the previous loss to Starkville in 2014 and a four-game losing streak in 2015 that stirred doubt in the community about whether Noxubee County had what it took to compete for a championship. In both cases, the Tigers responded. Shorter feels this year’s team has the potential to do the same. He said a key will be building depth, being more disciplined, and eliminating mistakes.
“There were little small things that can be corrected,” Shorter said. “The first series we drove it down and got it into the red zone. We can’t kick field goals against good football teams. We have to score. We have to finish.”
Shorter said he will continue to play larger classification schools because those teams provide a true gauge of the Tigers’ abilities. He is sure Columbus, which lost its season opener to West Point last Thursday, will offer another challenge that will test the Tigers’ mettle.
Columbus coach Randal Montgomery knows Noxubee County will do the same for his squad, which he said played hard in a 42-14 defeat in West Point.
“They had a tough first game, just like we did,” Montgomery said. “They will be at home with something to prove. Last year (a 24-23 loss), the game got away from us there, right at the end. We may have the most difficult stretch to start the season in the state. We told the kids to take that as a challenge. You can’t have the mentality you will back down from anyone. You have to fight every Friday night.”
Montgomery said the Falcons “competed for four quarters,” which was encouraging to see. He said the Falcons’ youth was on display and will continue to be all season. Montgomery’s hope is those young players will mature as the season progresses and realize there isn’t anything to be ashamed of losing to what Montgomery called “the best team in the state.”
“(As coaches) this team will try our patience this year,” Montgomery said. “However, they are working hard and are taking pride in being part of this program. That is different than from when we got here. We want to win games, but the measurement of this team will be based on how much they improve each week. It’s up to the seniors to make sure no one is down. Hard work is the only way we will get where we want to go.”
Shorter has a little more experience to rely on, but his message to his players is similar in that the Tigers have to live in the present and work hard to correct their mistakes so they don’t happen again. With a loaded non-conference schedule, the Tigers will face plenty of opponents capable of “embarrassing” them again.
“We weren’t physically and mentally prepared to play the first ballgame,” Shorter said. “As we get the reps and get in shape, we’re going to be a better tackling team and a better football team.”
“They are beating themselves up because they know they didn’t come to play. Like I told them, it is my fault, but that is not going to happen again. I can’t predict the outcome Friday, but I can predict our team is going to play harder, they’re going to play better, and we’re going to be in better shape. That I can guarantee.”
Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters contributed to this story.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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