MACON — Seven area teams will help kick off the 2015 prep football season this weekend at the New Hope High School Jamboree at Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium.
Amory will take on New Hope at 7 tonight to kick off the two-day event. Action will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday with East Webster taking on Hamilton. Aberdeen vs. Forest (11 a.m.), Columbus vs. Louisville (1 p.m.), Holmes Central vs. Noxubee County (3 p.m.), Kosciusko vs. West Point (5 p.m.), and Grenada vs. Starkville (7 p.m.) will round out the scrimmages that will help set stage for the season openers next week.
There will be plenty of storylines for the teams for the Greater Golden Triangle, but one of the biggest involves reigning Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A champion Noxubee County. The question is simple: How good can the Tigers be?
Coming off a 48-27 victory against St. Stanislaus in the Class 4A title game at Davis Wade Stadium, Noxubee County returns star power — senior defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons — and experience on both sides of the ball. Simmons was named to The Clarion-Ledger’s Dandy Dozen, which recognizes the state’s top 12 players. The Tigers suffered graduation losses that left them with holes to fill at linebacker and in the secondary, but Qendarrion Barnett, the team’s leading tackler in 2014, returns to support Simmons, who will make a case for the honor of the state’s most dominating defensive player.
Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter nearly was at a loss for words earlier this month when he was asked to talk about Simmons, who is the brother of former Noxubee County standout Dylan Bradley. Bradley is a junior defensive lineman at Southern Mississippi.
Shorter said Simmons, who is used to playing inside, moved to the outside for the first time last season. He said Simmons also might see some action at middle linebacker.
“We are going to move him around a lot,” Shorter said. “You never know where we are going to move him. We may play him at a three technique or a one technique. We might have him at a five. It really doesn’t matter. We are going to have our defensive scheme around him because I know people are going to look for him and make their game plan around him, too. It is going to be fun.”
Shorter also said Simmons is going to handle the Tigers’ snapping duties and is going to play on special teams. He said Simmons likely will see time at tight end and running back, too. Simmons saw action in those roles several times last season. Simmons had five catches as a receiver and six touchdowns and two rushes and a touchdown at running back. In all, he had five fumble recoveries, two blocked punts, and 11 touchdowns.
But Simmons’ primary contributions will come on defense, even if teams continue to run away from him. Don’t worry, though, because Simmons worked hard in the offseason and returns in great shape and prepared to chase people.
“I know most teams are going to try to (run away from him), but it will help my other teammates out,” Simmons said. “I am not going to be selfish and I am still going to hustle and try to catch plays on the back side. That is what we work for, to get the other guys right.”
Noxubee County won its second title in three years in 2014. The Tigers have won 87 games in the past seven years, the most of any school in the Greater Golden Triangle area. Noxubee County scored 40 points or more seven times last season en route to a total of 567 in 16 games. That total eclipsed the 16-game total of 545 in 2014, when the program won its second championship. The school’s first title came in 2008. The Tigers scored 40 or more points nine times that season en route to a total of 549 and a 14-0 record.
Defensively, the 2015 Noxubee County team will be able to measure itself against the 2008 and 2009 squads, which were two of the best in school history. The 2008 defense allowed 92 points, while the 2009 defense surrendered only 78 and had 10 shutouts.
That tradition is part of the reason every team will be gunning for Noxubee County.
“Everybody goes to beat Noxubee County,” Simmons said. “We are really not thinking about the outside people. We are just focusing on the team goals, and that is to get back to state. I really don’t have anything to prove. I just want to help my team get back to the state championship game.”
Offensively, the 2015 Tigers appear to have the potential to be more explosive than some of their peers in the past seven years. In recent years, the Tigers sometimes have struggled in the passing game, but that doesn’t appear to be an issue with the return of senior quarterback Timorrius Conner, who has earned the praise of Shorter for his continued maturation.
Shorter said Conner probably could rush for 500-600 yards, but he said that likely won’t happen because the Tigers don’t want to risk getting him hurt. He believes Conner can play quarterback in college, but he said he likely will play slot receiver because he is that versatile.
“He is unbelievable,” Shorter said. “With him under center this year, he keeps telling me, ‘Coach, we are going to win it again.’ One good thing about these kids is they know the history. They know it has never been done here, so they are going to be like, ‘We are going to be the first class to do it.’ ”
That’s a lot to place on their shoulders, but several Tigers talked confidently earlier this month about being able to handle that burden. In fact, senior safety Ladaveon Smith said Noxubee County welcomes the challenge.
“It kind of puts pressure on us because people expect us to do it again,” Smith said. “It is going to be hard enough to defend it. It is going to be sure enough hard to stay the champs. We want to use that as motivation.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.