MACON — Bobby May has found his voice.
A year ago, that voice was barely a whisper as the sophomore center took a back seat to the upperclassmen on the Noxubee County High School football team and allowed them to lead.
This season, May didn’t want to let another year go by without doing everything he could to help the Tigers win a state title, so he decided he was perfectly capable of stepping up and being the voice and the presence the Tigers needed up front to set the tone.
May’s maturation into the leader on the offensive has given Noxubee County the perfect conductor to lead the team’s train back to the state title game.
“Last year, he was a sophomore who wasn’t really talking a lot,” Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter said. “This year, he is that vocal leader who is getting things going and full of energy. He is keeping that offensive line straight.”
Shorter and Noxubee County (12-2) will count on May and offensive linemates Tyler Dooley, Curtis Gulley, Quincy Stokes, James Mason, and Laterience Dora to clear a path to Starkville, the site of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A state title game. To get there, Noxubee County will have to beat Greenwood (11-2) at 7 p.m. Friday in the Class 4A North State title game. The winner will play the winner of the St. Stanislaus-Purvis game at 3 p.m. Dec. 6 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville.
May has led an offensive line that has helped the Tigers rush for 201.6 yards per game. Earlier this season, Shorter said May set a goal for the offense to rush for 300 yards per game. The goal came after Noxubee County rushed for only 26 yards in a season-opening loss to Class 6A Starkville and was held to -41 yards in a loss to Class 5A West Point. The Tigers responded by rushing for more yards in each of their next four games. The streak ended with a 392-yard effort in a 33-0 victory against West Lauderdale.
Noxubee County has found its rushing legs in the postseason. It rushed for 340 and 365 yards, respectively, in victories against Senatobia and Yazoo County. Last week, Noxubee County had 167 yards rushing and 169 yards passing and four touchdowns in a 42-14 victory against Cleveland.
May, who is 5-foot-11, 215 pounds, said he picked 300 yards, which is a pretty big number, because he knew the Tigers could do it. He realized the linemen had put in the work in the offseason, so he figured 300 yards would be an attainable goal for his group, even if only two of the six offensive linemen Stokes, Dora) weigh more than 250 pounds.
“We don’t have to be giants to make something happen,” May said.
Last season, May said he was still figuring things out, so he didn’t feel comfortable moving into a leadership role. This season, he had a better understanding of the offense and thought to himself, ‘Why not me?’ when he considered who would emerge as a leader on the offensive line.
“I always keep my guys amped up. I don’t let them get quiet,” May said. “I just try to keep talking to them so we can accomplish our goals.”
Shorter said the rest of the offensive line is feeding of May. He feels May’s success and the development of the offensive line stems from a comment May made last year when he said the offensive line was “pushed around” in 2013. Shorter said May and his linemates committed themselves to getting stronger to prevent that from happening again.
“He seems like he is older than he is,” Shorter said. “When you talk to him, you can tell he has been around older people. He is one of those guys who gets a cut he will put tobacco juice on it and it will get well. He is a fun guy to be around. When he puts that uniform on, he gets hyped.”
Two weeks ago, Shorter said the team returned to Macon at 2 a.m. after beating Yazoo County. He said May helped him believe the Tigers were on the right path when he told him the Tigers were going to have “to get that train rollin’ again next week. Shorter credits May’s work ethic for setting the tone in the weight room and on the field. He said May’s ability to earn the respect of his teammates has helped him be someone who can make his teammates laugh and then get them re-focused to go to work.
“He is determined to go to the championship,” Shorter said. “He is determined to do whatever it takes for us to get back there. He knows it starts with the offensive line. He keeps reminding those guys about that all of the time.”
May even has the ideal sign — pumping his arm as if he is pulling the whistle or horn on the train — to get his linemates going. Once that train gets going, watch out because the Tigers have a stable of backs who can hit those holes and take the football to the house.
“I always do the train when I am on the field,” May said. “It is powerful and it is big. Whatever gets in its way is going to get run over. Every game, whoever gets in our way is going to get run over. That is just the way that it is.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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