Jadien Taylor has long been a weapon for Noxubee County’s football team, putting on a show on offense as a wide receiver and making stops on defense in the secondary, sometimes never coming off the field for the Tigers.

In a tight Region 4-3A game where neither team could find much separation, Taylor provided the monumental plays that made a difference in last Friday’s 8-7 victory over Choctaw County, earning himself The Dispatch’s Player of the Week honor.   

Amidst a defensive battle, the senior athlete was able to help his team move the chains by catching four passes for 84 yards and a crucial touchdown catch in the third quarter to give his team a chance to tie the game with a PAT. A bad snap on the kick attempt left Taylor, the holder, scrambling for the ball with the game on the line. He picked up the ball and dodged numerous would-be tacklers to buy some time and fired a pass to Cameron Chandler in the back of the end zone for what ended up being a game-winning 2-point conversion.

“He impacted the whole game offensively and defensively,” head coach Teddy Young said. “Offensviely he was a big part of what we did throwing the ball being able to stretch the field. Defensively, we moved his role to more of playing in the box where he had to come down and make some tackles and he did a great job of that. … He just played perfect, a great game. He did what we asked him to do. … We go as he takes us, and he had a great game Friday night.”

Taylor normally plays at safety but Young moved him to outside linebacker for last week’s game and he made his presence felt. He posted 10 tackles and forced and recovered a fumble to steal a valuable possession from the Chargers in the one-score game.

“(Taylor is) an athlete, a football player,” Young said. “He can do anything you ask him to do and he can do it at a high level. Most kids, they can play a lot of positions but they are not playing every position at a high level. Wherever we put him at, he can play at a high level.

“He’s an energetic kid. He’s going to fly around and he’s going to smile. He loves football. If you get him on the football field he is going to be very energetic. He is going to talk, hold people accountable and he’s the same way off the field. If you see him he is going to be smiling. You’ll never see him with a frown on his face. Everybody loves his personality, so he’s just a great kid to be around on and off the field.” 

Honorable mentions

Starkville Academy’s Bristo Santucci posted six tackles, two sacks and had an interception return for a touchdown in the team’s 28-20 win over Lamar School. Starkville’s A’braylen Jenkins had 124 all-purpose yards with two touchdowns and teammate Kaesen McQuiller had 11 tackles and returned a blocked field goal 81 yards for a score during the Yellow Jackets’ 28-7 win over Clinton. West Lowndes quarterback Kadon Burton ran for three touchdowns in the Panthers’ 34-14 win over Vardaman. Columbus Christian Academy quarterback Matthew Benge only needed three carries to rack up 188 rushing yards in the Rams’ 68-22 win over Hebron Christian.