MACON — “Finish.”
You can almost hear the sigh of relief in Noxubee County High School football coach Tyrone Shorter’s voice as he says the word. After going through a murderer’s row non-region schedule and facing arguably the toughest two opponents to open region play, Shorter doesn’t intend for it to sound like he is relaxing eight games into the 2014 season.
Instead, the veteran coach uses the word “finish” to underline the importance of the next three games to the Tigers’ season. Even though Noxubee County (6-2, 2-0 Class 4A, Region 4) is entrenched at No. 3 in Class 4A in The Associated Press’ rankings, Shorter knows his team has plenty more to accomplish.
“We are in the playoffs and we are sitting good right now,” Shorter said. “We just need to finish now. It is important for us to have the No. 1 seed, so we’re not going to overlook anybody.”
Coming off a 42-14 victory against Leake Central, Noxubee County will try to take the next step at 7 p.m. Friday when it plays at West Lauderdale (3-5, 0-2).
A victory would move Noxubee County even closer to its goal of winning the region and securing the top seed for the North State playoffs.
The odds will be on Noxubee County’s side Friday. The Tigers enter the game on a 13-game region winning streak. The last time Noxubee County lost a region game was a 14-12 setback to Louisville on Oct. 20, 2011.
Noxubee County also has won the past three meetings against West Lauderdale. The teams haven’t played every year since the last reclassification, so the last time West Lauderdale defeated Noxubee County was a 28-22 decision in 2006.
Noxubee County also has an impressive run of success against Caledonia and Houston, its remaining opponents in the region. Still, Shorter knows funny things can happen at this time of the season if a team isn’t focused, especially one that is as banged up as his team.
“I still think we have some good football teams left to play in our division,” Shorter said. “We are not looking ahead. We are just trying to get healthy. We are really banged up. We had another starter go down last week, so we are just trying to get healthy.”
Shorter said he will try to rest as many players as he can while not depleting his team’s depth each of the next three weeks. He anticipates all three opponents will give his team their best efforts because the region has plenty to sort out behind Noxubee County and Kosciusko.
Shorter said the majority of the injuries are on defense, but he said the offense has remained largely intact and is beginning to find its rhythm. He said junior quarterback Timorrius Conner is doing a better job reading defenses and the offensive line’s communication is improving.
In fact, Shorter said the offensive line is feeling salty enough for it to ask him to keep running the ball.
“I think we are clicking,” Shorter said of his offense. “Coach (James Patterson) is doing a good job of spreading it around. I think all of our running backs are getting touches now. I think our offensive coaches are doing a great job mixing it up with those guys and getting some confidence in other guys in case somebody goes down.”
An improving quarterback and offensive line, which features eight kids, and depth at running back and wide receiver gives Shorter the confidence the Tigers can score on anybody. he especially liked how Conner audibled out of a play call last week into a play that resulted in a touchdown. he still would like Conner to watch himself and slide rather than take contact when he leaves the pocket.
“If we’re going to have a chance to win a state title, he has to be healthy,” Shorter said. “His growth from last year is unbelievable. He is sitting at 18 touchdowns and five interceptions. Last year at this time it probably was opposite of that. He has really been a leader, and he is the reason our offense is doing so well.”
But the regular season is a different animal than the postseason. Shorter said the attention to detail needs to be sharper once elimination play begins, which is why he continues to work on sharpening the special teams. Last season, he feels the play of that unit was a primary reason why the season ended to Lafayette short of the goal of playing for a state title.
Two years removed from the school’s second state championship, Shorter saw the hunger in his players’ eyes Monday when he told them he was sending them home and canceling practice due to stormy weather in the area. He hopes the Tigers will maintain that drive the rest of the season so they can “finish” the year in style in Starkville, the site of the state title games.
“They know what is at stake,” Shorter said. “This group is hungry. They felt they should have played for a state championship last year as sophomores and juniors and we let it slip out of our hands. They feel real good about it. They are practicing hard and working hard. They want to win the division and go into the playoffs with the No. 1 seed and they want to play for a state championship. This group, that is all they talk about, playing for a state championship.
“I keep telling them, and all our coaches tell them, they have the talent to play for a state championship, but the best team with all of the talent doesn’t always get there. We have to do the little things right. … We have to stay focused and keep our eyes on the prize and our eyes on our goals.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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