MACON — Noxubee County had to slog its way through the first half against a feisty Jefferson Davis County team on Friday night. But led by brothers KaMario and Jaiden Taylor, the Tigers broke the game open in the second half and advanced to the MHSAA Class 3A quarterfinals with a 31-6 win.
“I knew the game wasn’t going to be easy. That’s a championship program over there,” Noxubee County head coach Teddy Young said. “I just told them we need dogs. I need dogs to come out in the second half. We were just going to come out and dominate, and that’s exactly what we did.”
The Tigers (9-2) punted from plus territory on the game’s opening drive, and the Jaguars (7-5) slowly but surely moved the ball downfield, converting twice on fourth-and-1 and taking up the final nine-plus minutes of the first quarter. JDC drove inside the Noxubee County 5-yard line before the Tigers made a stop — ensuring that the Jaguars’ 19-play, 84-yard drive that lasted 10 minutes and 41 seconds would end without any points.
Noxubee County proceeded to drive 96 yards in just seven plays to open the scoring. KaMario Taylor converted a fourth down with his legs before handing the ball off to Ladarion Mosely on the next play for a 17-yard touchdown run and the only points of the first half.
The Tigers’ defense intercepted JDC quarterback Alijah Fairley three times and limited big plays on the ground, pitching a shutout until the fourth quarter.
“They set the tone. It was a great defensive game plan,” Young said. “They dominated all night and did exactly what we asked them to do.”
The Jaguars moved into Noxubee County territory to open the second half before turning the ball over on downs, and then Taylor began opening up the Tigers’ offense. The Mississippi State commit picked up 26 yards on the ground to start the ensuing Noxubee County possession, which ended with Taylor going straight up the middle on a quarterback draw from 10 yards out to double his team’s lead.
After the Tigers made another stop on fourth down, this time in JDC territory, Taylor found his brother Jaiden for a 26-yard touchdown on the first play of Noxubee County’s next drive.
“We grew up together,” Jaiden Taylor said. “He’s been playing quarterback all his life, I’ve been playing receiver my whole life. When he threw the ball, all it reminded me of was backyard football.”
The Jaguars got on the board early in the fourth quarter on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Fairley to Malachi Walker, but the Tigers responded, using a 54-yard run by Mosley to set up KaMario Taylor’s second rushing touchdown of the night. Jaiden Taylor put the exclamation point on the victory with just over a minute left by intercepting his second pass of the game, returning this one for a pick six.
Noxubee County will take on Seminary in the third round of the playoffs next week.
“We’re just going to focus on the little things,” Young said. “We had a lot of problems doing the little things tonight. Lining up, we had a lot of false starts, a few holding penalties, so we have to clean up the little things.”
Noxubee County 31, Jefferson Davis County 6
Jefferson Davis County 0 0 0 6 — 6
Noxubee County 0 6 13 12 — 31
Second quarter
NC — Ladarion Mosely 17 run (kick failed), clock 6:25
Third quarter
NC — KaMario Taylor 10 run (pass failed), clock 5:59
NC — Jaiden Taylor 26 pass from KaMario Taylor (Jayden Caravantes kick), clock 4:08
Fourth quarter
JDC — Malachi Walker 26 pass from Alijah Fairley (rush failed), clock 10:07
NC — KaMario Taylor 1 run (kick failed), clock 7:09
NC — Jaiden Taylor interception return (kick failed), clock 1:13
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