Noxubee head coach Teddy Young said his Tigers are feeling good after a great week of practice and are motivated heading into game day.
It’s not just that they’re coming off a solid 28-6 win over Shannon last week on the road that has them ready to hit the field, but it’s also rivalry week and there’s hardware on the line.
Noxubee welcomes in Louisville at 7 p.m. Friday for the 78th contest between the two schools, now known as the Toothpick Bowl, for The Dispatch’s Game of the Week.
“(The Tigers) know what this week means,” Young said. “It’s rivalry week, the Toothpick Bowl, and we want to keep the trophy here at Noxubee County.”
Despite being separated by about 36 miles, there is a lot of familiarity between the two programs. The Toothpick Bowl title comes from the likeness of MC Miller, a toothpick-chewing coach who led both schools to state championships, and even Louisville head coach Tyrone Shorter and Young, who was coached by Miller when he played football at Noxubee, both know each other well. Shorter was Noxubee’s defensive coordinator when Young was playing there, and when Young switched his helmet for a headset, Shorter gave him his first coaching job. In between the lines, the players know each other too. While motivated, Young said it’s going to take a lot more than enthusiasm to take down the reigning back-to-back 4A champions.
“(Lousiville) has a very fast, physical defense; they play very hard and aggressive. Offensively, they want to run the ball, pound the ball,” Young said. “They have a good running back, so I expect them to come in well coached, especially on special teams. They don’t do a lot to hurt themselves and they are going to play very hard, extremely hard.”
The running back Young was referring to is Zaiden Jernigan, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound speedster who is listed as a four-star recruit by 247 Sports. He is tabbed as the No. 1 running back in the state for the class of 2028 and ranked No. 27 nationally, so it will be no surprise to the Tigers if Jernigan is trusted with carrying the offensive load for the Wildcats.
“We have to get him on the ground before he gets started,” Young said. “We have to get people on him. He breaks a lot of tackles and he’s very fast. The game plan coming in is we’ve got to stop him.”
Louisville will be coming into the game hungry to bounce back after a 36-16 loss at Starkville last Friday that moved the team to 2-2 on the season. In that game, Jernigan was limited to only 79 yards on 29 carries, but did punch in one touchdown run. In total, Louisville has been outscored 105-108 on the season and its two wins are over Shannon (29-18) and Holmes County Central (53-45).
Noxubee has a bell-cow running back of its own in Laderoun Mosely. He leads the team with 528 yards on 53 carries for a team-high seven touchdowns and also has eight catches for 82 yards and a score – but he is questionable to play on Friday. Mosely suffered a knee injury during a 27-20 loss to West Point on Sept. 12 and did not play in last week’s win. Young said Mosely’s participation will be a game-time decision.
But even without Mosley the Tigers’ still found a way to generate offense last week. Dual-threat quarterback Jykeim Goodwin threw for 108 yards on 8-of-11 passing for two touchdowns and one interception and ran for 100 yards and two scores on 14 scrambles. Defensively, the team has been opportunistic all season in forcing fumbles, interceptions and turnovers. In last week’s win the team forced two fumbles and had two picks in an effort that kept Shannon scoreless in the second half.
“Our goal is to get better every week, and the little things that we’re correcting are showing up each week and we’re getting better at it, so that’s the biggest thing,” Young said. “Defensively, we are getting better and better. They are flying around, we are stopping people a lot, we are getting a lot of turnovers, so it’s giving our offense opportunities to keep improving.”
Louisville has historically gotten the better of Noxubee in the rivalry, winning four in a row before the Tigers’ 28-13 win last year. All-time, the Wildcats hold a 51-26 advantage. Young said it will take a team effort Friday to put another check in the Toothpick Bowl win column.
“I think we have to play great in special teams. We can’t turn over the ball, and we have to limit the big play on defense,” he said. “If we don’t give them big plays and we don’t turn the ball over, I think the game will work in our favor.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
