MACON — Four-man fade likely will go down as one of the biggest plays in Noxubee County High School football history.
It shouldn’t be surprising that Kymbotric Mason and Timorrius Conner were involved in the play, or that it was a pass completion between a junior wide receiver and senior quarter back that sealed Noxubee County’s 20-13 victory against Lafayette County. After all, this is Noxubee County, a program that has earned a reputation for having an explosive passing attack.
But the 37-yard touchdown with four seconds remaining in the game earns a place in Tigers’ lore because it came with lightning efficiency on an evening where very little came easy in a matchup of two of the titans in the hierarchy of Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A play.
That’s part of the reason Mason still had the ball glued to his right arm 15 minutes after the game. Replete with fresh autographs done in red marker, Mason wasn’t going to give the ball up, either, after he and his teammates had worked so hard on a night when so little went right.
“My quarterback found me open and I just came up with the catch,” Mason said in the understatement of the season.
For proper perspective, Noxubee County (9-4) had four first downs and only 66 yards in the first half. The Tigers couldn’t run the ball against the Commodores (10-3) and couldn’t find their rhythm in the passing game. When the ice finally broke in the third quarter –sparked by a blocked extra point by senior defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons — Noxubee County looked like a different team. All of a sudden the Tigers could run the ball, as they did nine times on a 14-play drive that they used to take a 7-6 lead. Fittingly, Simmons capped the march with a 1-yard plunge. Samuel Lowery then added the extra point.
In this rivalry, though, things don’t go according to a script. In 2011, Lafayette County beat Noxubee County 20-0 in the North State title game. The following season, Noxubee County earned a 14-0 victory on the way to a 16-0 finish and a Class 4A state title. In 2013, Lafayette County earned a 9-0 victory at home.
On Friday, an interception return for a touchdown by Deveon Ball that went for 35-40 yards helped the Tigers take a 13-7 lead after Lowery’s kick failed with 6 minutes, 48 seconds remaining. On the previous series, Noxubee County had a touchdown pass from Conner to Mason called back due to a block in the back penalty.
Lafayette followed the topsy-turvy stretch run by using a 60-yard punt return by Rashun Rockette to move into business. The Commodores overcame a dropped pass on second down and a false start penalty on first down to get the tying score on a tipped pass in the end zone that Tyler Carmichael-Williams snared with 3:04 left.
That’s when things heated up.
Noxubee County couldn’t move the ball on three plays and had to punt. Lafayette took possession with 1:44 to go and appeared to get a first down on a run by quarterback Will Ard. In fact, one of the officials signaled first down, but Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter objected and called for a measurement. The move paid off because the spot was inches short. Faced with a fourth down, Lafayette tried to draw Noxubee County offsides with 52 seconds left in regulation. The Tigers didn’t bite. The Commodores allowed the clock to run down to 26 seconds and punted, which gave the Tigers the ball back with 16 seconds remaining on the 50-yard line.
Conner hit Ladaveon Smith with a quick-hitter to the left sideline for 13 yards. Still about 17 yards outside of Lowery’s field goal range, Conner took the snap and rolled right to work away from a collapsing pocket. There’s no other word to use than dart to describe the pass he threw to the right corner of the end zone. The pass zipped over the heads of the defenders who had moved deep to protect against a big gain and 5-10 yards in front of the goal line. Conner’s pass, though, found Mason in the soft spot in the coverage. He did the rest by waltzing into the end zone for the improbably score.
“I checked the cornerback’s technique and just moved past him,” Mason said. “There wasn’t anybody behind me. I saw the open space. That is what I trying to work into. I had a lot of confidence Timorrius was going to be able to get the ball to me.”
Mason said he had the confidence in Conner because the Tigers have had success with the route all season. The difference Friday was it was his first game-winning touchdown catch.
“We just had to stay focused and keep fighting,” Mason said. “That is one of the best passes I have caught.”
It also was his second game-winning ball from Conner. As a ninth-grader, Mason said he and Conner hooked up on a touchdown play to beat Columbus.
Conner, who was 12 of 25 for 181 yards and an interception, said he trusted his receivers, even if the Tigers only had 16 seconds left on the clock. He said he wanted to get as many yards as possible when he found Smith on first down. He said the Tigers didn’t have a script for the next play and relied on their experience working on situations just like that one.
“They always tell me to put the ball to the back pilon, and that’s what I did, and Mason just made a play” Conner said. “It felt pretty good (coming out of my hand).”
Shorter admitted he was trying to get the offense into field goal range. He said Lowery likely could have made a field goal from 30-35 yards, but he is happy it didn’t come down to a kick like that.
“The quarterback scrambled and Mason got behind the defense and he hit him,” Shorter said. “God was just with us.
“Conner said he saw him at the last minute, and he was able to get it to him.”
Shorter credited Lafayette for doing a lot of things to confuse Conner and contain the running game, especially in the first half. He said the Tigers kept their focus after a busted coverage on two wide receivers resulted in the Commodores’ first touchdown in the second quarter.
For a while, it looked like that score was going to be the only one of the night. But Simmons’ managed to get up high enough and hit Robbie Langley’s extra point attempt with the side of his arm. From there, Noxubee County found life and looked more like a team that intends to keep its march to history alive and help the program record its first back-to-back state titles. The road to Oxford will take Noxubee County to Houston next week. Noxubee County beat Houston 35-10 on Oct. 30 in Houston. Three of the four playoff teams from Region 4 are still alive.
“I felt like we were going to make a big play,” Simmons said. “Tank (Conner) made a great roll-out play. Bot just made a heck of a catch. (With 16 seconds left), I was thinking positively. On the last lay, I knew it was probably going to be a Hail Mary and somebody had to make a play.”
That somebody still has that ball glued to his arm today.
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 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.