Noxubee County coach Teddy Young will take a win however he can get it.
That includes last week’s 2-0 win for the Tigers against Louisville, the first 2-0 final score Young can remember. And he’s just fine with it.
“At halftime, I told my defense, ‘Y’all, win the game for us. Get a turnover,'” Young said. “I thought it was going to be a pick-six or a fumble recovery, but they gave us a safety, and that’s what we won with.”
“A good defensive game,” quarterback Marlon Windham said. “We need to put up more points.”
Windham’s offense will have the chance to prove itself, because Young has given his players a much more difficult goal for this week’s home game against Columbus.
Young wants his defense to pitch another shutout, and he wants his offense to put up 40 points on the Falcons, who went winless last season and fell to Provine in Week 1.
The Tigers, ranked fourth in Class 3A, are up to the challenge.
“We’re going to do it,” junior defensive tackle Travorus Hatcher said. “We’re trying to prove a point to every team we play.”
Young knows all too well the impact Hatcher brings to the Tigers.
“He gives the offensive line trouble,” Young said. “He keeps our linebackers free, now they can roam and make 1-on-1 plays. Our defensive tackles, when they get 1-on-1 blockers, he’s getting double-teamed most of the game. When he’s going, he’s unstoppable.”
Columbus coach Joshua Pulphus will put an inexperienced offensive line to the test against Hatcher and the Tigers’ defensive front.
“We’ve only got one returning starter on the offensive line,” Pulphus said. “We’re still getting better, and a lot of those guys have never had any game reps.”
It’s not just the O-line where the Falcons suffer from a lack of experience — they’ve got new players all over the field. Especially on defense.
“Throughout the entire defense, I probably have three returning starters,” Pulphus said. “We’re a young defense.”
For Pulphus, coming off a winless season in 2018, the development of those inexperienced players is what matters the most in Friday’s ballgame. He said that while his players deserve a win, they’ve got to earn it first.
“We can only control what we can control,” Pulphus said. That’s been our biggest thing we’re saying is that as long as we do our part, we’ll let the chips fall where they may.”
Though Noxubee County is a clear favorite, Young promises a physical and competitive game between the two rival schools.
“You get both teams’ best shots. Basically it’s bragging rights for the whole year,” Young said. “I think Columbus will come out and play hard, and our kids will come out and play hard, too.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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