Noxubee County is playing its best football of the year at exactly the right time.

The Tigers were 3-4 after dropping a shootout at Kemper County on Oct. 6, but since then, Noxubee County has outscored its opponents 135-6 during a three-game winning streak. The Tigers (6-4) will carry that momentum into the postseason, which starts with a tough first-round matchup against South Pike (7-3) on Friday night.

“We’ve controlled the line of scrimmage,” Noxubee County head coach Teddy Young said. “We’ve been very dominant on the offensive line and defensive line. We’ve won the special teams battle and we’ve won the turnover battle.”

All season long, the Tigers have been led by junior quarterback Kamario Taylor, who committed to Mississippi State on Oct. 13. Taylor has completed 138 of 228 passes for 2,451 yards with 33 touchdowns and just five interceptions, and is also a threat in the running game with 518 yards and seven scores. His top target is Dequadrion Welch, a senior who recently committed to Mississippi Valley State. Welch has 51 catches for 907 yards and nine touchdowns.

Noxubee County has plenty of other weapons in its receiving corps too, including Ledareoun Mosley (26 catches, 538 yards, eight touchdowns), Jaylen King (25 catches, 448 yards, eight touchdowns) and Jadquist Clark (19 catches, 380 yards, four touchdowns). Martavius Wicks is the Tigers’ leading rusher, with 637 yards on 94 carries and seven touchdowns.

“We’ve been able to protect the quarterback and open up some running lanes,” Young said. “The guys up front, they’ve been the key to the offense so far.”

The key to Noxubee County’s late-season turnaround, though, has been the defense. The Tigers allowed at least 45 points three times before holding Enterprise, Southeast Lauderdale and McLaurin to a combined six points. And they had played some of the toughest competition possible in non-district play, with three of their losses coming against Starkville, West Point and Louisville.

BJ Payton leads the way defensively with more than 10 tackles per game to go along with eight sacks. Ekamryn Smith, Kyrin Oliver and Teddy Roby have all registered at least five sacks, and in the secondary, Lekyleron Dancy has come up with three interceptions, one of which he took back for a touchdown.

The Eagles’ offense revolves around running back Tedarrius Aych, who in 10 games has rushed for 1,398 yards and 16 touchdowns on 8.4 yards per carry. Dual-threat quarterback Martavius Jones has scored nine touchdowns on the ground but just six through the air to go along with six interceptions. Devin Johnson has more than 60% of South Pike’s receiving yards and four of his team’s six receiving touchdowns.

Taylor and Noxubee County’s offense will be challenged by a ball-hawking Eagles’ defense, which had 15 interceptions and 13 recovered fumbles during the regular season. Demonte Martin is responsible for seven of those interceptions.

“They’re a physical team,” Young said. “This game will be won in the trenches. If we can control the trenches, we’ll have a good chance to win.”