MACON — Brandon Johnson’s list is finally dwindling to nothing.
As the certified athletic trainer who works with the Noxubee County High School football team, Johnson has been busy with myriad injuries that have kept the Tigers from being at full strength for nearly the entire season.
But Johnson’s hard work has put the Tigers about ” a step away” from finally reaching 100 percent, according to coach Tyrone Shorter.
Noxubee County showed last week what it has the potential to do when it gets everyone back. Led by the return of quarterback Deangelo Ballard, Noxubee County rolled to a 52-13 victory against Leake Central in a Class 4A, Region 4 game.
The victory inched the Tigers (7-1, 2-0 region) a step closer to securing first place in the region and a chance to play host to a first-round North State playoff game. The next step will come at 7 Friday when Noxubee County plays its final regular-season road game at Houston (4-4, 1-1).
The return of Ballard and running back Ladarrell Hunt from injuries and the continued return to good health of running back Darrell Robinson will give Noxubee County nearly a full compliment of weapons as it prepares for the final three regular-season games.
“I was very surprised last week how Ballard came in. It is like he didn’t miss a beat,” Shorter said. “Our offense looks different when he is out there.”
Shorter praised the play of senior Kamal Chamberlain, who stepped in after Ballard was injured in the second half of a 45-29 victory at New Hope on Sept. 2. Noxubee County has weathered the storm and relied on different players to emerge and on its defense in victories against West Point and Aberdeen.
But Shorter said the timing is right now that the Tigers have had all of their injured players medically cleared to play. He said it has been difficult not to look ahead to next week’s “Y’all vs. Us” game against Louisville in Macon, but he likes the prospect of playing that game with everyone available.
“We’re blessed to be getting all of these players back,” Shorter said. “We’re getting them back at the right time. Houston is a good football team, and we’re going to need all of them to win.”
Shorter said Ballard and Hunt will start Friday in an effort to help them fine-tune their timing. He said Robinson is out 98 percent, while Hunt is at about 90 percent. Both players are experiencing no pain in practice, which is a good sign for an offense that appears to have an ideal balance of running and passing options.
Shorter said he isn’t worried about his team losing focus or letting down because they know all of the players are back healthy. He feels it will work the other way and make everyone even more enthusiastic because the players have seen what they can do without them, so they will be even more motivated to show what they can do at full strength.
“We feel good about our ballclub,” Shorter said. “These guys are anxious and ready to get back to it. This group of guys is so close. When those guys got hurt, it is like they put their heads down for a little because they want everybody healthy and everybody playing. I think it gave us a lift. Now they’re saying, ‘How good can we be?’ It showed Friday night. Leake Central is not a bad ballclub, but we hit them so quickly with big plays.”
The key, though, is keeping all of those players, which is where Johnson comes in. Shorter said he will do his part to limit the playing time of the returning players so Johnson won’t have to re-visit old injuries or deal with any new ones.
“I love that guy to death,” Shorter said of Johnson. “He gets these guys back out there and ready to go for us.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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