MACON — It”s one thing to step forward when you have a week to prepare knowing you”ll be without your starting quarterback.

It”s an entirely different proposition to lose a starting running back a day before a game and have to scrap your game plan, especially against an athletic and experienced defense.

But champions emerge when their teammates need them.

Buoyed by standout performances from Darrell Robinson and Javancy Jones on each side of the ball, the Noxubee County High School football team showed Friday it has some of the ingredients it takes to hoist the championship hardware in Jackson.

Robinson rushed for 177 yards and had two touchdowns, and Jones had three sacks to spearhead a defense that rose to the occasion in a 16-6 victory against Aberdeen.

“We knew (our defense) had to step up,” Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter said. “We knew we were going to struggle on offense, but I didn”t think we would struggle this much.”

Robinson and the Tigers learned Friday that Ladarrell Hunt would miss the game with a right ankle injury. He accepted the challenge and shouldered a 25-carry load that allowed the Tigers to overcome an inconsistent offense that is adjusting without starter Deangelo Ballard, who is out four to six weeks with a fractured leg.

“Coming in this week, my coaches told me I was going to have to carry the load, so I was ready for it,” Robinson said. “I was amped up for it. I knew I was going to get around 30 carries tonight. I am ready for it. I train for this and I run hard every day in practice so if it came to this I would be ready for it.”

Robinson sparked the Tigers in the second quarter with an 8-yard gain. He then busted a run to the sideline and instead of going out of bounds he cut back into a seam and raced 51 yards for a touchdown that helped tie the game at 6 with 10 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Noxubee County capitalized on one of two Aberdeen fumbled in the third quarter with what proved to be the game-winning scoring drive. Taking over at the Aberdeen 46-yard line, Robinson gained 10 yards and one play later he ran through two defenders and then shook off a neck-high tackle to complete a 35-yard touchdown run. He then caught the conversion pass from Kamal Chamberlain to give the Tigers a 14-6 lead.

“It was a 24 lead, and our tight end blocked real good and pushed them out and there was a big hole,” Robinson said. “I just cut it up and cut it left.”

Shorter said Noxubee County tried to maintain a fast pace with a no-huddle offense at the start but had to move away from it in the second half. He said he was proud of Robinson for picking up the slack for an injured Hunt.

“We told him with Ladarrell Hunt out he was probably going to carry the ball about 30 times tonight and he stepped up,” Shorter said. “He kept wanting the ball. He really, really stepped up as a running back tonight.”

Jones, a junior defensive end, used his speed from the edge to terrorize freshman quarterback Josh Williams and lead a defense that allowed only 44 yards in the second half. The Tigers had six of their seven sacks in the final 24 minutes.

“Watching film, we knew they struggled a little and if we were going to have success we would have success off the ends,” Shorter said. “Javancy stepped up and played a heck of a game. Dylan Bradley and the other guys (on the defensive line) really stepped up.”

Jones, a 6-foot-2, 202-pound speed rusher, said the Tigers built on an impressive performance last week in a 45-29 victory against New Hope. He said the defense had to step up to answer the call with key players on offense out.

“The other game I really wasn”t going because I was out there trying to play more than my position,” Jones said. “Tonight, I was just playing my position and that is what I got.”

Noxubee County had three of its best defensive series in a stretch at the end of the third quarter into the fourth. The Tigers swarmed Williams for a 2-yard loss, had a sack by Jones, and then allowed a 4-yard gain to end the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Tigers had two sacks, including one led by Bryant that went for a safety. In between the sacks, Aberdeen hit a long pass play that went inside the Noxubee County 10, but it was called back on an illegal motion penalty. Javoris Glenn and Ralph Franklin then teamed on back-to-back sacks in the next series to continue the dominance.

“That”s the best (defense) I”ve seen,” Aberdeen coach Chris Duncan said. “They”re very talented on defense. Since I have been at Aberdeen, we haven”t played anyone like them. Three defensive linemen, great. Three linebackers, great speed everywhere. They have a great defense.”

Chamberlain and sophomore Jessie Bryant shared the quarterback duties, but the Tigers completed only two passes for positive yards and had only 9 passing yards in the first half.

Noxubee County ran its first play out of the Wildcat formation. It spent much of the first 24 minutes alternating between the shotgun and under center.

Aberdeen mixed the run and the pass a little better, completing two passes for 10 and 20 yards on the final drive of the first quarter. But the drive, which moved to the Noxubee County 17, ended with an interception on fourth down by Noxubee County”s No. 20.

But the Bulldogs capitalized when fumbled the exchange from the Noxubee County 3 on the ensuing play. A Noxubee County penalty pushed the ball 1 yard closer, which is where Josh Williams punched it home to open the scoring.

The Bulldogs used six ballcarriers in the first half but gained only 24 yards on 2 carries. They had seven plays for negative yards and allowed two sacks. Noxubee County also surrendered two sacks.

Duncan praised his team after the game for improving, especially on offense. But he said there still were plenty of things his squad needs to correct if it wants to return to Jackson for a chance to break through and win a gold ball after finishing as the runner-up in Class 3A the past two seasons.

“We played one of the best defensive teams in the state and our kids moved the ball at times,” Duncan said. “I was proud of the way the ninth-grade quarterback played. He has picked his game up. I was pleased. I am not pleased we got beat because we expect to beat everybody we play, but we”re getting ready for the end of the road deal. That”s why we play these tough teams, and I think it is going to help us in the long run.”

Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.