MERIDIAN — Noxubee County High School football coach Tyrone Shorter didn’t envision offensive struggles for his team this season.
However, after scoring only six points last week, Noxubee County lost to Meridian 28-0 on Friday night at Ray Stadium.
“With so many starters back, it is hard to understand what has happened to our offense,” Shorter said. “For three weeks now, it has really been a struggle. As coaches we will meet this week because we have to get some things straightened out on offense or it is going to be a long season.”
Noxubee County (2-2) opened with victories over Starkville and Columbus. After that, the Tigers saw a 13-game, two-season win streak snapped with a 10-6 loss to Aledo, Texas. The Tigers have been held to six points in the last eight quarters of play.
“It simply puts too much pressure on our defense,” Shorter said. “That unit has played well all year, but we simply have to get them some help. On defense, we have allowed one touchdown in the last three games. However, they are being asked to do way much. Their effort Friday night was amazing.
“Our offense did not do anything to help them but the defense kept battling and gave us a chance.”
Noxubee County had 206 yards and committed five turnovers. Senior quarterback Timorrius Conner was intercepted three times for touchdowns.
Noxubee County had the first scoring threat of the night. However, the Tigers’ Jeffery Simmons was stopped at the 2-yard line on fourth down. Meridian (1-3) then took the ball 98 yards on 10 plays for its lone offensive touchdown of the night.
Tray Warren scored on a 1-yard run to give the Wildcats a 7-0 halftime advantage.
“Our offense has really disappeared,” Shorter said. “We knew we were playing some tough teams but we should be in a position to compete better. Our quarterback play is terrible right now. Our running back play is terrible. Our offensive line is not performing.”
The game swung for good on an interception return for touchdown by C.J. McClelland. This 35-yard return lifted the Wildcats to a 14-0 advantage. Kenny Glenn and Justin Grant had interception return touchdowns in the fourth quarter for the Wildcats.
“We just have to go back to work and figure some things out,” Shorter said. “If we don’t get back to where we need to be on offense, it will be a long season.”
Noxubee County will plays host to West Point on Friday night.
n Lamar School 31, Starkville Academy 13: At Meridian, the Raiders made amends for two losses last season against the Volunteers.
“Lamar played really well in all facets of the game,” Starkville Academy coach Chase Nicholson said. “We weren’t at our best. I thought the kids fought really hard for four quarters. Lamar started strong and built the big lead. We really had an uphill climb most of the night.”
Last season, Starkville Academy beat Lamar School 42-21 in the regular season and followed that up with a 42-0 win in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Division II playoffs. The Raiders finished with four wins.
However, this season Lamar (3-1) entered the game with dominating wins over Winston Academy and Heritage Academy – two district rivals for the Volunteers.
“We knew they were well-coached and fundamentally sound coming in,” Nicholson said. “You saw on tape a really good team. You can tell they have a lot of players back from last year and that they have grown up a lot. We really need to start fast, especially on the road. That is something we had been doing well this season.”
Instead, Lamar School scored the first 24 points of the game. Quarterback Davis Harrison hit J.T. McClellan for touchdown catches of 12, 37 and 63 yards. Leading rusher Will Roberts and McClellan had missed last week’s loss to Simpson Academy by injury.
Lamar led 10-0 at halftime after holding Starkville Academy (3-1) to 42 yards of total offense in the opening half.
Trailing 24-0, the Volunteers got on the board when Houston Clark scored on a 9-yard run. A possession later, a 30-yard interception return by Clay Truelove upped the advantage to 31-6.
Starkville Academy then ended the game with a 93-yard scoring drive, capped by a 10-yard touchdown run from Grant Wolfe.
The Volunteers rushed for 176 yards and had 212 yards of offense. Wolfe had 65 rushing yards to lead the team. Harrison finished 18-of-32 passing for 230 yards to lead the Raiders.
“We simply fell too far behind,” Nicholson said. “You can’t spot a team that many points on their home field. We did some things well on offense, but it was too late. We really struggled to get into any type of rhythm in the first half. The players did fight hard for four quarters. That is a good sign.”
Starkville Academy will play host to Washington School on Friday for Homecoming.
“We just have to come out each day and keep getting better,” Nicholson said. “We know some of the things that we are not doing well. We will work on those things and hopefully be better at them in time for district play.”
n Oak Hill Academy 48,
West Memphis Christian 12: At West Memphis, Arkansas, sophomore John Carver Middleton won his first start at quarterback as the Raiders bounced back from last week’s loss to Heritage Academy.
In the 10-0 loss to Heritage Academy, Oak Hill Academy quarterback Ken Dill went with a broken fibula. He is expected to miss most of the remainder of the season.
“The biggest thing was how well John Carver played,” Oak Hill Academy coach Chris Craven said. “We had to change some things on offense but he performed well in practice all week and that carried over to the game. We lost our starting quarterback and then lost our backup before the season so John Carver was basically our third option there.
“He really stepped up there and delivered. I am proud of his first game. We just had to go out and show that we are still a good football team. Even though the quarterback is the leader, we still have some other good players. It was important to show that we are still capable of having a good season.”
Middleton received a lot of help from senior Drew Riley. Riley had five rushes for 137 yards and two touchdowns, a 70-yard pass reception for a touchdown, a 51-yard interception return for touchdown, and a two-point conversion run.
“Drew really carried us,” Craven said. “He was out there making plays all over the field. We don’t have a lot of numbers, so it is hard to practice first team offense against first team defense. That is why we worried about the play of our quarterback. Drew went out there, led and really helped get the offense going.
“John Carver led the offense well. He didn’t take chances, didn’t make mistakes and didn’t turn the ball over. It was a really great first start.”
Also for Oak Hill Academy (3-1), Macon McBrayer had a 6-yard touchdown run and Collins Brown had a 40-yard touchdown run.
The Raiders had 398 yards total offense. Brown rushed for 78 yards. He also had an interception. McBrayer rushed for 51 yards, and Middleton rushed for 45 yards.
Senior Caleb Roberson led the defensive effort with 10 tackles, including four assists, as well as two sacks. Craven called those “incredible numbers for a lineman.”
Heath Ford had two interceptions, including a 60-yard return for touchdown. Powell Tabor kicked four extra points.
Oak Hill Academy will play Friday at Marshall Academy.
n Tupelo Christian Prep 34,
Columbus Christian 14: At Tupelo, trailing 20-14 at halftime, the Rams were shut out in the second half of this road defeat.
Columbus Christian (0-4) finished with 226 yards of total offense, including 124 rushing yards and 102 passing yards.
Tupelo Christian (3-1) built a 13-0 lead. Columbus Christian answered after Dawson Shaw intercepted a pass and returning it 27 yards for the touchdown. Shaw then threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Jay Clark to create the halftime deficit.
Shaw was 5 of 15 for 108 yards with the touchdown. He led the way with 11 rushes for 93 yards, followed by Dorian Brewer with seven rushes for 29 yards. Clark had two receptions for 69 yards.
Jaborris Frazier had six tackles to lead the Rams, followed by Kimarri Whitfield, Shaw, and Clark with five each. Billy Brewer had a fumble recovery. Tyler Beaird and Brewer had four solo tackles
Caleb Kitchens passed for 291 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Eagles. John Mark Jolly added 108 rushing yards and another score. Kitchens hit Cade Hall for touchdowns and Josh Miles for another. Miles also scored on a 9-yard touchdown run.
Columbus Christian will play Friday at Winona Christian.
West Alabama
n Aliceville 22, Lamar County 0: At Vernon, Alabama, the Yellow Jackets (2-2, 1-0 Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 3A, Region 4) received rushing scores from Nick Spruill, Qydarius Matthews, and Daquan Curry in their victory against the Bulldogs (2-2, 0-2).
Matthews paced Aliceville with 90 yards rushing. He also had four solo tackles and seven assisted tackles. Spruill had four carries for 42 yards, Curry had four carries for 37 yards, and DeMontez Hilton had nine carries for 33 yards. Aliceville rushed for 232 yards.
Quarterback Santiago Taylor was 2 of 8 for 31 yards.
Aliceville limited Lamar County to 113 yards total offense. The Yellow Jackets had five sacks.
Phillip Wilder had a sack, four solo tackles, and two assisted tackles. Curry and Jamar Richardson had interceptions. Deonte Taylor had one solo tackle and seven assisted tackles. Nicquavious Curry had one solo tackle and six assisted tackles.
n Clarke Prep 28, Pickens Academy 21: At Carrollton, Alabama, Trey McConnell scored on a 1-yard run to help the Gators cap a fourth-quarter rally against the Pirates (1-3, 0-1 Alabama Independent School Association Class AA, Region 2).
Landon Hattaway’s 2-yard run with 9 minutes, 50 seconds left in the game gave Pickens Academy a 21-12 lead. But Clarke Prep answered with a Nick Pope 43-yard touchdown run with 5:39 to go. McConnell’s run helped Clarke Prep improve to 1-2 and 1-1.
Clarke Prep outrushed Pickens Academy 263-151. The Gators also had an edge in total yards (292-210).
Chance Britt had 19 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown for Pickens Academy. Ryan Harcrow had four carries for 28 yards and a touchdown. Hattaway added eight carries for 24 yards.
Will Jones had two catches for 6 yards, Hattaway had one catch for 35 yards, and Britt had one catch for 13 yards.
Daniel Powell led the team with 10 tackles, while Riley Harcrow had nine. Ryan Harcrow had seven tackles.
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