It’s been a rejuvenating week of practice for the Noxubee County Tigers, who are riding high with new and fiery ambition after ending Choctaw County’s season last week in a thrilling 34-33 victory in Macon.
The Tigers’ revenge for last year’s defeat to the Chargers in the Class 3A state championship game could not be denied as it clawed back from being down 14-0 early in the game to advance to its fourth straight North Half championship game. The win has sent a shockwave of positive feelings throughout the program as it prepares to tackle another foe that has stolen a state championship trophy from the Tigers before – Winona.
Once again, revenge is on the mind of Noxubee, which is set to square off at Winona on Friday for the right to play at Mississippi State on Dec. 4 for the Class 3A state championship.
“It’s been good,” head coach Teddy Young said. “We had a great day (Monday). The kids are excited. Like I told them, ‘Ain’t nothing but four teams in 3A practicing this week and are blessed to be one of them.’ … To get that win and continue your season this year, that was big for the kids. They are looking forward to this one. The last two state championships we lost have come from Choctaw County and Winona, so next we have Winona so this will be a big game for us trying to get a win.”
The Tigers’ (10-3) appearance in its fourth playoff game this season was earned in part by four total touchdowns, two passing, two rushing, from senior Jaiden Taylor, who threw the game-winning score to Christon Glenn with 31 seconds left in the game. Defensively, the team struggled to slow down Choctaw running back Jeremiah Miller as he piled up five rushing scores, and relinquished its most points in a game all season, but made just enough plays to keep the Chargers out of the end zone when it mattered most at the end. Tackling has been a topic of emphasis for the Tigers this week in preparations for Winona running back Yoshawn Hudson and quarterback Landon Crawford, who combined for five rushing touchdowns in their 42-20 win over Aberdeen last week. Getting Hudson and Crawford, who Young called “elusive” on the ground early is key to getting the win.
“They have a good running back; their running back makes them go,” Young said. “He’s hard to tackle, he’s big, he’s fast, he’s physical. They can also run the ball with their quarterback. When they do throw the ball they have speed on the outside that can give you problems (because) they have some guys who can run.”
Noxubee got to see Winona’s playmakers up close on Oct. 10 in a 31-26 loss. It was a game in which Hudson and Crawford combined for four touchdowns to offset Noxubee’s four combined scores from Jykeim Goodwin, Laderoun Mosely, Glenn and Keon Mason. The difference in the game was a kickoff return for a touchdown by Winona’s Dee Hudson.
“They are a very-well coached team that plays hard,” Young said. “They made us turn the ball over offensively and they had some big plays on special teams. That’s what we have to clean up this week. We can’t give them nothing on special teams and we have to take care of the football. … Offensively we have to win in the trenches, on the offensive line and defensive line. I think if we can win the trenches and take care of the football we put ourselves in a great position to win.”
After a 2-4 start to the season, Winona rattled off seven straight victories to earn a matchup with the Tigers, and brings an offense that averages 30 points per game and a defense that allows 22 points per game. The Winona Tigers has been a hurdle the Noxubee County Tigers haven’t been able to cross in some time, owning a three-win streak over Noxubee going back to a 36-8 victory in the second round of the 2021 playoffs. They’ve played each other six total times with Winona holding the 4-2 series advantage, but no memory of Winona from Noxubee’s perspective is fresher than seeing them walk off the field with the 2023 state championship. With another chance to enact some revenge, Young said it’s going to take everyone to get the job done.
“I just want to see us put that perfect game together where we play great in all phases, special teams, defense and offense,” he said. “We’ve been having games where we played good on two phases of the game and other phase we don’t play that well, so I’m just looking for us to put a great game together through all three phases.”
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