MACON — Tyrone Shorter usually smiles a lot at this time of the year.
Prep football fans in the Greater Golden Triangle area know October, November, and December typically belong to Noxubee County High School. In the last 11 years, the Tigers have won five state titles, including three in the last four seasons. A closer look shows Noxubee County is 82-7 in those months. Its last loss prior to a loss to Louisville on Oct. 5 was against Louisville on Oct. 20, 2011.
Noxubee County will try to build on that resume at 7 p.m. Friday when it plays host to New Hope in a Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A, Region game at Tiger Stadium.
“I think we’re close,” Shorter said when asked if he likes where his team is positioned as it prepares for the playoffs. “We’re pretty healthy. We have got nearly everybody back. We have got back there — knock on wood — at the right time. We still have some things we’re working on, but I like where we are.”
Noxubee County (5-5, 2-1 region) will celebrate Homecoming and Senior Night on Friday night. On the field, it hopes to wrap up a regular season that has included injuries, inconsistency on offense, close calls, and the most losses the program has suffered since the 9-5 season in 2016. A loss to Pontotoc in the third round of the playoffs ended that season.
Shorter hopes the onset of “playoff time” will bring a new sense of focus and intensity for his program. He said his players’ confidence has increased the last two weeks after putting up 107 points in victories against Kosciusko and Leake Central.
“All of the playmakers on offense are getting touches, so it is going to be kind of hard to prepare for us because we have like six kids who can touch the ball at any time and score a touchdown,” Shorter said. “I told the offensive coaches, ‘Let’s get all of these kids involved and put all of them in some good situations,’ so everybody is feeling good about themselves.”
Those wins followed a 27-26 loss to Louisville. The defeat snapped Noxubee County’s 30-game region winning streak and set up the possibility the Tigers will have to play the Wildcats again if they want to get back to the state championship game.
Looking back, Shorter feels his team has come a long way since that game, which was the first one back for senior Kyziah Pruitt since the season opener against Starkville. Since his return, Pruitt has moved to quarterback to give the Tigers a two-man system with junior Khristopher White.
Shorter said the return of Pruitt has taken some of the pressure off White, who emerged as the starter with senior Maliek Stallings staying at wide receiver and cornerback. Shorter said the Tigers have used the last two weeks to try multiple things.
“The kids are having fun,” Shorter said. “We played a tough schedule, and we play a tough schedule for a reason. Our schedule has prepared us for this time of the year. The kids are working hard. We are more together now. A big part of that is bringing Pruitt back. With his leadership and presence on the field, it just seems like the receivers are blocking better and everybody is having fun.”
In addition to having Pruitt back, Shorter said the rest of the team is nearly 100 percent healthy. He said he plans to hold one player out this week and hopes to have him back for the start of the playoffs, when Noxubee County will play the No. 3 seed from Region 1, which likely will be New Albany, next week.
Even though Noxubee County hasn’t been ranked recently in The Associated Press state poll, Shorter is confident his team is rounding into form at the right time. He believes the program’s tradition and the returning players from the 2017 state title, which was the program’s fifth, will make sure the Tigers make an extended run so they can add to their 5-0 mark in December in the last 10 years. If they can, the Tigers will win one more Class 4A title before dropping down to Class 3A next season as part of the latest round of reclassification.
“We are fine. We have been here before,” Shorter said. “We worry about the final rankings, not the rankings right now. We were the same way last year. … (Not being ranked) doesn’t bother me and I tell the kids not to worry about it and to worry about the final rankings.
“I saw (a move to Class 3A) coming five years ago because every year for the last five or six years or so we have been losing 15-20 kids and it finally has caught up to us. I don’t want to move down, but we have nine or 10 schools ahead of us. We are small. We have a school program and all of our kids can sit on one side of the gym. They used to have both side. Wherever they put us we are going to continue to play Noxubee County football.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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