MACON — Approach. Focus. The little things.
Tyrone Shorter has focused on those topics the past few weeks as his Noxubee County High School football team prepares for the Class 4A North State playoffs.
That time has finally arrived for Noxubee County, which will play host to Senatobia at 7 tonight.
“We talk about the maturity of this group. The things were were doing, we have to be more mature,” Shorter said. “I believe in a mature football team and that that goes with the talent and ability will carry you a long way in the playoffs.”
Last week, a 34-10 victory against Houston helped Noxubee County (9-2) cap a 5-0 record in the region and wrap up the No. 1 seed. Shorter has used the end of the regular season to rest a handful of players who have been banged up with an assortment of injuries. He feels the defense finally has everyone back and that the offense has developed the right mind-set to help the team have a long postseason run.
Noxubee County hasn’t lost since a 33-19 decision to West Point on Sept. 19. Shorter feels the offense has found its rhythm since that loss and that the Tigers have developed a balance between the running game and its passing game. He credits center Bobby Mays for helping set the tone up front and for getting the offensive line to build confidence in its ability to open holes for the running backs.
Shorter said Mays has grown into the role of a vocal leader.
“He probably gained about 15 or 20 pounds from last year,” Shorter said. “He said to me, ‘Coach, last year we got pushed around. We’re not getting pushed around anymore.’ He is that leader — that voice — on offense. He is the man on offense who is talking and getting the train pumped. He wants it so bad. Those guys are working so hard.”
On the other side of the football, Shorter said junior lineman Jeffery Simmons has been the vocal leader. He said Mays and Simmons have been texting back and forth telling the other that Noxubee County’s success will start with the offensive and defensive lines. Shorter saw the texts Mays and Simmons exchanged after a conversation with Mays. He said “a chill” went through his body when he read his players’ comments.
“If you dominate in the trenches, the percentage of your chances of winning the football game is going to be very, very high,” Shorter said. “I like that this group isn’t looking ahead or anything. It is all about round one. We’re going to take care of round one and leave everything on the field, and then we will start approaching the second round.”
Not only have Mays and Simmons set the example off the field, they also have worked hard on it to push everyone to raise their levels. Shorter said Simmons, who is 6-foot-4, 255 pounds, has been leading the Tigers in sprints. He said that makes all of the skill players pick up their pace or run the risk of hearing about it from the coaches.
Shorter knows approach, focus, and the little things can get in the way of a title run. Last season, he felt self-inflicted wounds — namely turnovers — were Noxubee County’s ultimate downfall in a 9-0 loss to Lafayette County. He has used those words to try to get the players to have a sharper focus so they know they need to raise their level for the postseason.
Now that the Tigers are a year older and wiser, Shorter sees his players aren’t talking about playing for a state title, even though it will be played much closer — about 30 minutes away — in Starkville. First, he said, his players are dialed in for each game on the road to the championship. Many of them have played key roles for the past two seasons, and Shorter said the players don’t want to re-live the disappointment they shared in 2013.
“Small things keep telling me that they are ready for this run,” Shorter said. “We keep telling them it is not going to be easy and that everybody is going to bring their ‘A’ game against us, so we have to be mature about the whole situation. We can’t worry about officials or whatever. We can control the game by the way we play. Our focus is on starting fast and not making mistakes because we felt mistakes beat us last year.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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