MACON — Tyrone Shorter doesn’t have to rant and rave to let you know he isn’t happy.
On non-game nights, it usually is pretty easy to tell whether the Noxubee County High School football coach is pleased or upset. When he is excited, Shorter’s face will break into a smile and he will talk a little louder. When something concerns him, Shorter will talk a little quieter, but he won’t try to hide his displeasure.
On Tuesday, Shorter wasn’t happy even though Noxubee County defeated Forest 41-12 on Friday in its home opener.
“I thought we took a step back Friday night,” Shorter said. “Game two (a 24-23 victory against Columbus), I thought we got a little bit better from game one. But game three, especially defensively, I think we took a step back because we worked so hard on trying to stop the running game and they were still able to run the ball.”
Noxubee County (2-1), the two-time reigning Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A State champions, allowed 178 yards rushing against Class 3A Forest last week. That total was more than Noxubee County surrendered against Columbus and against Class 6A Starkville in a season-opening 24-21 loss.
Shorter knows Noxubee County can’t afford to give up that many yards rushing or commit the same number of mistakes it did last week at 7 p.m. Friday when it plays host to Class 6A Meridian.
“I think we are doing OK, but we have to correct so much,” Shorter said. “I can see so much stuff that we’re doing wrong on both sides of the ball on film that is keeping us from being that really, really great team. We are making too many mistakes, especially on the defensive side of the ball.”
While Forest’s biggest success came up the middle, Shorter feels Noxubee County might have contributed to that by being out of position. After 19 years as a coach, Shorter knows those mistakes are going to come back and hurt his team. He also knows teams that aren’t able to stop the run don’t have long lives in the postseason. He said the Tigers are doing enough defensively, but he said the level of execution isn’t up to typical program standards
Shorter said one of the issues is players being out of position. At linebacker, Shorter said his players are going too quickly and need to slow down. He said the Tigers were in position to make numerous tackles for no or negative yards, only to see his players overrun plays and give Forest a chance for positive yards.
To that end, Shorter has asked Kalmorris Robinson, who has stepped in at middle linebacker following the graduation of Qendarrion Barnett, to do a better job keeping his position mates in position and focused. He said he understands more is being asked of Robinson, but he wants him to keep some of that responsibility off him so he can play his game.
Robinson admits moving to middle linebacker has been “tougher” for him.
“I have been trying to focus more on my teammates more than myself to make us win and to help us get better,” Robinson said.
Robinson said the Tigers focused on making sure everyone was lining up the right way Monday in practice. He said he will continue to show his teammates where they need to be following film study. He said he has high expectations for the defense and that he feels things will improve this week.
“I expect them to know a lot and I expect them to make adjustments when they see it. If I don’t tell them, they should already know. When I do, they should adjust to I quick,” Robinson said. “There is always room for us to get better. We are going to be even better going into district and going to playoffs, so I know there is even more room for us to be better for this upcoming game.”
Shorter feels sophomore quarterback Maliek Stallings has the same kind of room to grow from last week to this week. He said in the preseason that there were a lot of similarities between Timorrius Conner, who guided the Tigers to back-to-back state titles, and Stallings. In addition to both players wearing No. 1, they also have strong right arms, are long and lean, and have the ability to make plays with their feet. That shouldn’t be surprising because they are first cousins.
Shorter feels Stallings is a little ahead of where Conner was when he was a sophomore. He credits his offensive coordinator James Patterson and the rest of his offensive coaching staff for working with Stallings to put him in positions where his skills can help the team succeed.
There is no denying Stallings has the confidence to lead the team. He said he used to throw a high school football in the backyard with Conner when he was growing up. He said he heard then that both players were bound for special things. Now that he is leading the Tigers, he feels he has a responsibility to live up to the standard his cousin helped set.
“This is something I love to do,” Stallings said. “The first three games, I can’t even explain it. It feels like this is where I am supposed to be.”
Stallings said he feels comfortable with the speed of the game because he worked in practice against Division I defenders like Jeffery Simmons (Mississippi State) and Barnett (Idaho). He said he is listening to Patterson and the rest of the coaching staff when they tell him to take what the defense gives him and not to force balls into double or triple coverage.
Even though Shorter reminds him success is measured in wins, not individual statistics, Stallings doesn’t feel he has done a good enough job through three games.
“I didn’t want my team to lose a game, and I kind of put that first game on me as me not growing up fast enough,” Stallings said the loss to Starkville in the season opener. “I felt we would have won that ballgame if I would have grown up faster.”
Stallings said he will continue to work with Patterson in practice on check downs and making better decisions. He said he feels it is a long road, but that he is confident he and the Tigers will get there because he knows his teammates are behind him “150 percent.”
Shorter has that confidence in Stallings, too. With non-region games remaining against West Point and Kemper County, Shorter wants to see the Tigers cut down on their mistakes and gear up for Class 4A, Region 4 play.
“It seems like every ballgame we leave so much on the field,” Shorter said. “We have so much room to grow and get better. I know we are playing some tough opponents, but we are still making too many simple mistakes. We have to correct those mistakes before we can reach what we are trying to get.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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