MACON — Scott Parenteau”s job is to keep the momentum rolling.
Word already is out that the Noxubee County High School football team will play host to Louisville High as part of season three of Cellular South”s “Y”all vs. Us” prep football series.
On Thursday, Parenteau and representatives from Fox Sports were in Macon to look at Noxubee County High School”s football stadium and to talk to coach Tyrone Shorter and athletic director Deloria Stewart to plan for the game, which will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 20 in Macon.
“We”re trying to make sure everyone is on the same page,” said Parenteau, a public relations specialist with Cellular South. “We”re trying to make sure we have room for what we to bring in.”
Preliminary plans include using an 18-wheel tractor trailer to bring in a Jumbotron video board that likely will be placed in the end zone away from the school. Parenteau also said fireworks will be included as part of the festivities surrounding the game.
In scouting out the facility, Parenteau said additional scaffolding likely will be brought in so the television broadcasters for the game will have enough room. He said that scaffolding could be placed on top of above the press box.
In his first year as part of the series, Parenteau said each site presents unique challenges and that Noxubee County High has a great framework with which to work.
Parenteau said planning for the series began late last season. He said he is excited to be part of an event that is going to expose an area of the state to a bigger audience.
“We kind of took the strategy of trying to find smaller-town schools whose communities really took to the schools and the football programs and really embraced their hometown team,” Parenteau said. “The communities that have a lot more going on don”t seem to get as invested. In the smaller towns, the whole communities really get involved and embrace the football teams. It creates a better rivalry. Your teams feel the love of their whole community. It is a lot better atmosphere sometimes when you have it at these smaller schools.”
The game, which is one of the premier rivalries in the area, is expected to attract a crowd that could surpass 10,000. To accommodate that crowd, Stewart said Noxubee County is in the process of acquiring bleachers that will allow the stadium to seat thousands more than the current capacity of 5,000-5,500.
Stewart said more and more people are discovering Noxubee County will be a part of the “Y”all vs. Us” series this year. She thinks the experience will be a wonderful experience for the entire community.
“This game is going to draw in people from all around, especially with it being on Thursday night,” Stewart said. “We”re looking for a large crowd, so we know we will have to add seating.”
Parenteau said Cellular South is considering awarding a trophy to the winner and coming up with a name for the annual rivalry. Shorter said a local television station already has suggested “The Toothpick Bowl,” in recognition of former Noxubee County and current Louisville High football coach M.C. Miller”s fondness for keeping a toothpick in his mouth when he is on the sidelines.
Parenteau also said he and the pre-production crew for the television broadcast will return to Macon next Thursday to put together video packages that will be used the day of the game.
Representatives from Cellular South will be at each school Oct. 19 to be involved with pep rallies to help build excitement for the game, Parenteau said. He also said Cellular South was exploring the possibility of securing another sponsor to be a part of the broadcast.
The “Y”all vs. Us” series features some of the oldest and biggest high school football rivalries in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. Last season, select game telecasts reached more than 12 million cable and satellite households in seven Southeastern states.
Daphne (Ala.) and Fairhope (Ala.) will play at 7 p.m. Oct. 13 in Fairhope, Ala., and Madison Central will play at Northwest Rankin at 7 p.m. Oct. 27 in Flowood in the other games in this year”s series. The games will be televised live statewide on Fox Sports South.
Noxubee County defeated Louisville 19-12 last season to clinch the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A, Region 4 title. Noxubee County advanced to the Class 4A North State title, where it lost to eventual state champion Lafayette.
Louisville also lost to Lafayette in the second round of the Class 4A North State playoffs last season.
Louisville won Class 3A state titles in 2007 and ”08 under coach Brad Peterson, who is now the head football coach at Brandon High.
Noxubee County lost in the Class 4A state title game in ”07 before defeating D”Iberville 12-10 for its first football state title in ”08.
Noxubee County has won four games in a row in the series, and is 9-2 against Louisville in the past 10 years. All but one of the meetings have come in the regular season. Louisville beat Noxubee County 21-20 in its second game in the Class 4A North State playoffs in ”02. That victory avenged a 36-22 loss to the Tigers in the regular season.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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