Even though the first quarter in Kosciusko ended with no score for either team in both teams’ Region 4-4A opener, the Noxubee County Tigers (3-4, 1-0 in region play) dominated the line-of-scrimmage from the initial kickoff and thumped their hosts 30-0, defeating the Whippets (1-5, 0-1 in region play) for the eleventh straight time.
The Whippets ran six plays in the first quarter netting -12 total yards, and that would be the case for Kosciusko all night. The Tigers missed a 21-yard field goal just as the second quarter started after an 11-play, 37-yard drive with 11:54 remaining in the half, but began a scoring flurry right before the half when Jakerrius Oliver found the end zone on a five-yard run with 3:49 remaining to take a 7-0 lead over the Whippets.
This four-play, 73-yard drive was aided heavily by Javarcus Walker’s 57-yard run to the Kosciusko six-yard line the play before. Three plays later, Jataquist Sherrod picked off Whippet quarterback Clark Dean’s tipped pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to put Noxubee up 14-0 with 2:09 left in the second quarter, which would be the lead they would take into the half.
The Tigers received the second half kickoff and promptly put together a 10-play, 61-yard drive that ended when Noxubee quarterback Maliek Stallings found Kyziah Pruitt with a 25-yard strike, increasing the lead over the Whippets to 21-0 with 7:13 left in the third quarter.
The Whippets appeared poised to score on the ensuing drive, but turned the football over on downs after a promising 12-play, 41-yard drive was snuffed out at the Noxubee 36-yard line. Seven plays and 58-yards later, the Tigers scored again when kicker Samuel Lowery drilled a 23-yard field goal to open the fourth quarter with 11:14 remaining in the contest.
Noxubee found the end zone for the last time after an eight-play, 66-yard drive ended with a Stallings to Kymbotric Mason 18-yard touchdown pass, kick failed, pushing the final margin to 30-0 with 5:58 left in the fourth.
Kosciusko would threaten once more until Jimmy Morris picked up a Whippet fumble and returned it 18 yards to the Noxubee 40-yard line where the Tigers would run out the clock, winning 30-0.
“We know what type of team we have,” said Noxubee head coach Tyrone Shorter. “Our schedule has prepared us for this and it has prepared us for the playoffs. I told our guys that this was a must-win and this win has put us in the playoffs, so now we just have to finish and get healthy. The tough schedule that we played is going to help this team out tremendously, and we just have to continue to believe and continue to play as hard as we can play.”
Kosciusko head coach Chad Peterson feels that the Tigers are the best in MHSAA Class 4A and one of the best in the entire state. “They are just a big, physical and fast football team and I was really pleased with our defensive effort in the first half holding them to under 150 total yards of total offense,” he said. “They played really, really well and kept us in the game until the end when it kind of got out of hand. The offense didn’t play very well, be we are excited about the defensive effort and hopefully that will continue. We just need to regroup and know that we have four very winnable games coming up.”
The Noxubee County Tigers return home this Friday night for another Region 4-4A matchup with the Leake Central Gators (3-4, 0-1) while the Houston Hilltoppers (6-1, 1-0) host the Whippets. Both contests kick at 7 p.m.
