MACON — The level of competition may have ramped up, but Noxubee County opened the postseason exactly the way it finished the regular season: with a dominant win.

After defeating their last three regular-season opponents by a combined 135-6, the Tigers’ roll continued in the first round of the MHSAA 3A playoffs Friday night with a 35-6 victory over South Pike.

“They played great,” Noxubee County head coach Teddy Young said. “We challenged them to come in and dominate, and we did that on the defensive line. We tackled well.”

The Tigers’ defense set the tone for the night with a three-and-out, and junior quarterback Kamario Taylor and the offense went right to work. The Mississippi State commit connected with sophomore Ladareoun Mosley with a throw across his body for a 14-yard touchdown to open the scoring.

Noxubee County quickly got the ball back after Damarius Stevenson recovered a fumble around midfield, and the Tigers (7-4) marched down the field again. A screen pass from Taylor to his top receiver, senior Dequadrion Welch, went for 10 yards to convert a fourth-and-6, and four plays later, Taylor again found Welch, who slipped past several would-be tacklers on his way to a 22-yard touchdown and a 14-0 Noxubee County lead.

“All of our wide receivers are seniors,” Taylor said. “I never really played with my own age group, I always played up a grade, (so) I always played with those guys.”

The Tigers struck again in the second quarter after a punt return by NaJayvious Jones coupled with a facemask penalty put them on the South Pike 31-yard line. Mosley found space down the right sideline on a screen pass before being taken down at the 1, and Taylor scored on a quarterback keeper on the next snap to make it a 21-0 game.

Just before the half, Noxubee County ran a near-perfect two-minute drill to further extend the lead. On third-and-8, the Tigers continued to find success with screen passes as Taylor hit Jadquist Clark, who took the pass 27 yards into Eagles territory. Running back Martavius Wicks came wide open downfield two plays later for a 28-yard completion that moved the ball inside the 10, and then Taylor connected with Welch again for eight yards and the score.

“We were able to protect (Taylor),” Young said. “Kamario made some good throws and our playmakers made plays.”

It took the Tigers less than a minute after halftime to score again and bring on a running clock. Facing pressure, Taylor rolled to his right, turned upfield, and just before reaching the line of scrimmage, fired a dart to Welch, who made a shoestring grab in the front of the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown.

Taylor completed 16 of 22 passes for 247 yards and four touchdowns as well as another score on the ground. Welch finished with six receptions for 101 yards and three touchdowns.

On the flip side, Noxubee County held South Pike running back Tedarrius Aych, who racked up 1,398 rushing yards during the regular season, to just 65 yards on 15 carries. The Eagles (7-4) got on the board early in the fourth quarter with a 13-yard touchdown run by quarterback Martavius Jones, but the Tigers held the ball for the rest of the game as the clock continued to wind.

Noxubee County will make the long trip to Bay St. Louis next week to face St. Stanislaus in the second round.

“I challenged (the seniors) to keep it going, and all of them stepped up this week,” Young said. “They led the younger guys and all of them had big performances.”

Noxubee County 35,

South Pike 6

South Pike (7-4) 0     0   0    6 — 6

Noxubee County (7-4) 14   13   8     0 — 35

First quarter

NC — Ladeareoun Mosley 14 pass from Kamario Taylor (Jayden Caravantes kick), clock 8:23

NC — Dequadrion Welch 22 pass from Taylor (Caravantes kick), clock 4:46

Second quarter

NC — Taylor 1 run (Caravantes kick), clock 7:29

NC — Welch 8 pass from Taylor (kick blocked), clock 0:42

Third quarter

NC — Welch 30 pass from Taylor (Mosley run), clock 11:09

Fourth quarter

SP — Martavius Jones 13 run (pass failed), clock running