MACON — Not counting the injuries to his team, Tyrone Shorter is feeling a lot better.
The longtime assistant now in his second season as head coach of the Noxubee County High School football team can talk a little more confidently about his defense now that he is beginning to see more effort like the stingy Tigers of old.
Coming off an impressive effort that helped Noxubee County build a 45-0 lead against New Hope two weeks ago, the Tigers raised their level Friday in a 16-6 victory against Aberdeen. The Tigers limited the Bulldogs to 18 rushing yards on 42 carries, and 94 total yards. Aberdeen”s only score came following a Noxubee County fumble on its 2-yard line.
And while Shorter would feel even better if he had a healthy starting quarterback and pair of running backs, he knows talk about championships starts with defense, especially with two-time Class 5A state champion West Point coming to town at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
“The new people who are starting to catch on,” Shorter said. “They were thinking a lot and now they are recognizing things and reacting. We are getting back to our style of defense, just attacking and tearing stuff down. I think we were thinking too much at the beginning and it made us a step slow.”
Shorter admitted to being frustrated by the play of his defense after a loss to Columbus in the Fall High School Jamboree at Mississippi State”s Davis Wade Stadium. He also wasn”t pleased with that unit”s effort in a win against Starkville and a loss to Spain Park (Ala.), saying it needed to “clean things up” if it was going to be a force this season.
Shorter has seen that group move toward that level thanks to the play of junior defensive end Javancy Jones and junior defensive lineman Dylan Bradley spearheaded the Tigers” effort against Aberdeen. Jones had three of the team”s seven sacks in an effort that helped the unit control the line of scrimmage.
Jones said Friday his play has improved now that he has stopped thinking and that he is reacting. Shorter said the unit”s maturation stems from the players” willingness to listen to one voice — Jones — and to play their roles.
“We have improved on doing our jobs and playing only our position and not trying to do everybody else”s job,” Bradley said. “It was kind of frustrating (at the beginning of the season). At times we got a little hot headed at each other. We were arguing and not communicating, but since everybody is doing their job — and only their job — we are stopping the run and stopping the pass and, as a whole, we”re doing great.”
Shorter said his defense is having fun and improving with repetition. He said not thinking too much has enabled the defense to capitalize on its speed and aggressiveness. He credits Jones for stepping into the role linebacker Corey Williams held last season and helping to unite the defense.
“Now we are just filling the holes and executing the plays the coaches are calling,” Jones said. “Everybody knows who they have and what they have got to do. I am helping them do their jobs.”
It remains to be seen if the defense reaches the heights of the 2008 Class 4A state title team that notched seven shutouts or the 2009 team that had 10. But Shorter knows a stout defense can help the team overcome the loss of quarterback Deangelo Ballard and running back Ladarrell Hunt and, possibly, help it get back to Jackson.
“We”re starting to play like we did last year (when Williams, Jacoby Harris, and Toddrick Tate led the defense),” Shorter said. “I knew we were going to start off kind of slow, but every game we”re getting better and better. By the time we hit district play I hope we have all of the kinks ironed out on defense and just fly around and play our football.
“We”re really playing great defense the past couple of weeks. That is what it is going to take. If you”re going to win a championship, you have to stop people.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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