The defending Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A state champions have survived every test this season against teamss that are in higher classifications.
The Noxubee County High School football team will get another chance to extend that streak at 7:30 tonight against Class 5A West Point High School.
The Tigers (4-0) have swept Class 6A schools Starkville, Columbus, Jackson Murrah, and Greenville-Weston.
Noxubee County coach M.C. Miller said his squad tries not to think about the size of the opponent.
“I think Noxubee County has established we can compete with anybody at any given time,” Miller said. “If we play like we”re capable, we”ll be all right. We can”t have any mistakes.”
Miller expects an intense game from former division rival West Point, even if the state”s reclassification this year bumped the Green Wave up a class.
“This will be our toughest game by far,” Miller said. “West Point has a good ballclub. We”ve got to play our best game if we want a victory here.”
The Tigers, the No. 1 Class 4A team in the Mississippi Prep Sports Source rankings, have shut out Starkville (30-0), Jackson Murrah (28-0), and Greenville-Weston (29-0).
Chambless has a unique way of describing how the Tigers go about playing the game.
“With three shutouts out of four games, it”s not really unbelievable because it”s them,” Chambless said. “Have you ever stepped in an ant bed and saw how fast so many ants went everywhere? That”s how they are when the ball is snapped. Whether it”s the kickoff team, offense, or defense, they are ready to go. That”s just how they play and do it extremely hard.”
Miller is pleased with how his defense has played this season, but he doesn”t want his unit to go to sleep against West Point.
Michael Carr, who had a 92-yard kickoff return against Starkville called back due to a penalty, is a concern, but Miller said the Green Wave have dangerous rushing attack. The Green Wave rushed for 269 yards against the Yellow Jackets.
“(Carr) is a great athlete, not taking anything from him, but he”s not the only one who makes West Point go,” Miller said. “We”re going to have to do something besides stop him.”
West Point (2-1) has won its past two games after losing its season opener against Shannon 27-20. The Green Wave are ranked third in Class 5A.
Chambless believes his team is getting better each week. He was concerned about some adjustments that weren”t made against Starkville.
“We can”t wait that long to smarten up,” Chambless said. “That”s why we want to play these tough early games. We”ve got to do the little things right, especially against Noxubee County. Coach Miller and (his staff) does a good job.”
The Tigers are still expected to be without quarterback-wide receiver-safety Vincent Sanders.
Miller said it”s a “wait-and-see situation” with Sanders, who is recovering from a broken jaw suffered in the season opener against Starkville.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.