MACON — There have been times when the Noxubee County High School football team’s defense has been a force to start the season.
A look back to the state title season in 2008 and to the 2009 campaign shows the Tigers recorded a shutout in the season opener each year en route to posting seven and 10 shutouts for the whole year.
In recent years, though, the Tigers have had to wait a little longer. Last season, Noxubee County had to wait until its eighth game for its first shutout of the season. In the program’s other state championship year in 2012, Noxubee County didn’t record its initial shutout until its fourth game.
If history is any indication, this year’s Tigers might be right on schedule for another title march.
On Friday, Noxubee County (3-1) used two goal-line stands to blank Aberdeen 29-0 for its first shutout of the season. In 2012, Noxubee County also notched its first of five shutouts against Aberdeen (45-0) en route to a program-best 16-0 season and a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A state crown.
Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter has been a part of all of the defenses as defensive coordinator or head coach. He said it is a testament to his players and his coaches that the defense has come so far so quickly after a 51-19 loss to Starkville in the season opener on Aug. 22.
“The defensive coaches did a very good job of scouting and putting our kids in the right positions and the right situations (against Aberdeen),” Shorter said. “Our defense is getting better and better each week. That first shutout of the season is huge for us in getting a lot of confidence.”
Shorter said he and his coaches shuffled personnel to address issues he saw following what he called an “embarrassing” loss to Starkville. In addition to the position changes, Shorter went back to having his first offense go against his first defense in practice. He said the move back to physical practices helped get the Tigers in a better mind-set and enabled them to get back to their aggressive style of defense that is characterized by 11 hats to the football.
Shorter also said the maturation of junior Qendarrion Barnett at linebacker and the ability of senior leaders like Mahlon Robinson and Wesley Bush and junior Jeffery Simmons to become more vocal has allowed the defense to have fun, to play more relaxed, and to continue the trend of recent defensive domination.
“We are blitzing and we playing with reckless abandon again,” Shorter said. “The guys like that and are playing fast. We have simplified it a little more. We don’t want them to think a lot and we want them to react.”
Shorter has said in past years that it is natural for each team’s defense to compare itself to the program’s best units. Statistics show that the 2008 (seven shutouts) and the 2009 team (10 shutouts) rank with the all-time best. While none of the past four defenses have come close to matching those numbers, Shorter said his philosophy hasn’t been to rely on his first defense for 48 minutes each week. Shorter said he has tried in the past and will try this season to rest his players and to develop depth if given the chance. He isn’t sure if that chance will come Friday when Noxubee County will play at West Point, but he believes a challenging non-conference schedule that still includes Charleston will prepare his players for the Class 4A, Region 4 chase.
“As long as they get better each week, we might not shut people out,” Shorter said. “We are playing some good football teams. Going into the Aberdeen game and their firepower, their quarterback, their skill guys, I didn’t think we would shut them out, but we got some breaks and we got lucky. We came up with two very good defensive stands, and that really motivated our kids.”
Stands like that can be a turning point in a season, especially after giving up 51 points in your season opener. Shorter has tried to prepare his players for the long haul by telling them teams are going to make plays and that it is more important how they finish. If you believe in signs, last week could have been a signal that the Tigers are ready to take the next step on defense. If so, that could be a scary thought for offenses the rest of the way.
“They are starting to talk and to communicate,” Shorter said. “When we see our players audible and make the right calls into the right situation in a goal-line stand, that is what you want to see. That is when you know you are heading in the right direction. We have a long way to go, but we are trying to get better and better each week.
“They believe they can go out and win every football game. They know we have a tough schedule. They know every week we have to come to play.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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