MACON — Tylan Carter never had a chance.
As the Choctaw County quarterback dropped back in the first minute of the fourth quarter on Friday at Noxubee County, he saw a sight not many signal-callers hope to encounter: The Tigers’ entire defensive line, unblocked and running straight at him.
Carter, with nowhere to run, did the only thing he could do: He took the hit. The sack — credited to four different defenders — brought up fourth and long, and the Chargers punted the ball away.
Such was life Friday for Choctaw County as Noxubee County’s defense flexed its dominance in a 29-0 win to clinch the top seed in MHSAA Class 3A, Region 4.
“They stepped up when we needed them to,” senior running back Bobby Shanklin said.
Shanklin — Noxubee County’s “offensive leader,” according to head coach Teddy Young — certainly played his own big role for the Tigers (5-1), helping them put up a 14-0 halftime lead and build on it in the second half. But Noxubee County was able to deliver precisely where it counted, shutting down Carter, playmaker Quez McNeal and the Chargers’ powerful offense.
“We won the line of scrimmage,” Young said.
The Tigers achieved precisely what their coach hoped before the season, as Young noted that Travorus Hatcher and the majority of the Noxubee County defensive line were returning for their senior seasons. Last year’s D-line was part of the team that beat Choctaw County to make the Class 3A championship game, and Young knew he would need a strong performance from the unit Friday to achieve that goal — or better.
“If we’re going to win this game and we’re going to get back to the state championship, it’s going to start with the guys in the trenches,” Young told the Tigers.
They backed that statement up Friday by virtually shutting down Choctaw County’s running game. The only offensive success the Chargers found Friday was on sideline passing plays from Carter to McNeal, but after the dynamic wideout was shaken up after a hard hit from safety Zack Andrews and the Tigers’ defense tightened up, the big plays stopped coming.
“We just had to wake up,” Shanklin said. “We were just sleeping in the first half. We had to go talk to each other and pick each other up and play as a team.”
While Noxubee County’s halftime improvements didn’t exactly show on the scoreboard — the Tigers outscored the Chargers 15-0 in the second half compared to 14-0 in the first — the home team showed renewed effort and energy in completing the shutout.
Late in the third quarter, they stuffed a run play for a safety, and quarterback Chrishaad Rupert found Anthony Little Jr. for a 23-yard touchdown on the ensuing possession. A few minutes into the fourth quarter, Rupert connected with Macardi Johnson for a 48-yard score, Johnson’s second of the game.
Hatcher took the ball in on a 1-yard run in the second quarter, showing a promisingly symmetrical offense that the Tigers haven’t always had, Young said.
“We’ve been clicking this year,” the coach said. “We’ve been better offensively because we’ve got balance — we can throw the ball and run the ball.”
The Tigers were able to limit turnovers, too. A third-quarter interception thrown by Rupert was Noxubee County’s only giveaway of the night, a far better performance than last year’s regular-season game in Ackerman where the Tigers couldn’t stop coughing up the ball. The turnovers led to a 28-18 loss and cost Noxubee County a chance at the district title.
But when the two teams met up in Ackerman again in the north state championship game, Noxubee County won 33-14 to end the Chargers’ season and send the Tigers to Hattiesburg to play for a title.
The two games left both teams with a lot of motivation headed into Friday’s game, Noxubee County senior defensive lineman Ma’teo Chandler said.
“I know they really wanted it, and we really wanted it, too,” Chandler said. “So we had a little chip on our shoulder, and they did, also.”
The Chargers’ chip is sure to only grow bigger, especially if they meet up with the Tigers in the playoffs. But if they do, the game will be in Macon, as Noxubee County earned home-field advantage in the Class 3A playoffs Friday.
With next week’s home game against Aberdeen canceled because the Bulldogs are in quarantine due to COVID-19, the Tigers now have a week off prior to opening the postseason at home. As always, there will be things to improve.
Young said he’ll evaluate game film to see where the Tigers fell short Friday. He’ll challenge his defense to do even better — if that’s at all possible.
“Tonight, we showed glimpses,” Young said. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
Noxubee County 29, Choctaw County 0
CC 0 0 0 0 — 0
NC 6 8 9 6 — 29
First quarter
NC — Macardi Johnson 15 pass from Chrishaad Rupert (kick failed), clock 5:13
Second quarter
NC — Travorus Hatcher 1 run (Damian Verdell run), clock 0:52
Third quarter
NC — safety, clock 2:19
NC — Anthony Little Jr. 23 pass from Rupert (Jakelvius Spann kick), clock 0:46
Fourth quarter
NC — Macardi Johnson 48 pass from Rupert (kick failed), clock 8:28
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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