Noxubee County is replaying all the hits from last year’s playoff run.
The Tigers crushed St. Stanislaus 49-14 in the second round in 2023 en route to a state championship game appearance, and their opponent the following week was Jefferson Davis County, who they defeated 29-22. This year, Noxubee County opened postseason play against the Rock-a-Chaws, beating them 42-3, and the Jaguars await the Tigers in the second round Friday night.
“We came out and played with good energy. We played well in all three phases,” Noxubee County head coach Teddy Young said. “We still had a lot of mistakes, lining up wrong, little mental mistakes that we can control. So we have to fix those things.”
The Tigers (8-2) are led by senior quarterback KaMario Taylor, the No. 11 quarterback in the country for the class of 2025 who remains committed to Mississippi State even after picking up a Georgia offer in the last week. Taylor has thrown for 1,931 yards and 29 touchdowns with just four interceptions this season, and also has 858 rushing yards with an average of 10.6 yards per carry and 11 touchdowns on the ground.
Taylor’s leading receiver is his brother, junior Jaiden Taylor, who has 36 catches for 615 yards and 11 touchdowns. Ledareoun Mosley and Michael Dancy are also reliable options in the passing game.
BJ Payton leads the way for the Tigers defensively, with 98 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. Freshman Kendrick White is also dangerous as a pass rusher, and Jeremiah Jackson, Donovan Conner and Jheremy Payton are regulars in opposing backfields. Noxubee County is playing its best football of the season at the moment, outscoring its last three opponents by a combined 135-6.
“The senior group especially, they’re focused on the little things,” Young said. “They’re leading the younger guys the right way, challenging them to stay focused and stay locked in.”
JDC (7-4) started its playoff run with a 46-26 home win over Wesson last week. The Jaguars’ offense is coming into Macon hot, averaging more than 38 points over their last six games, and they are 5-1 in that stretch.
“They’re well coached, they play very hard, they have a lot of speed. We must be able to contain them and tackle well and not hurt ourselves. That’s the biggest thing,” Young said. “They don’t have just one guy who stands out, but all of them play so hard and do what they do well. It’s going to be a team effort from them, so we have to be able to control everybody. We must win the line of scrimmage, offensive line and defensive line.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
