For every player and coach that has come through Louisville and won a state championship, all eyes were on Tyrone Shorter’s crew on Saturday afternoon as the Wildcats took on Mendenhall in Hattiesburg.
Coming into the game, the Wildcats were the only program in the state to play for 10 state championships and never lose a game. But, as has been the case in some of those games along the way, that streak was in danger.
With Mendenhall driving to try to win the game around midfield, Gabriel Moore jarred the ball loose from the running back to give the Wildcats the ball. LHS drove the ball inside the ten and gave the game to Ceidrick “Sugarfoot” Hunt.
The junior kicker nailed a 27-yard field goal after two timeouts and a couple of pre-snap penalties. That field goal ran the clock out and brought home the school’s 11th state title.
“I just had to block it out and just stick to the basics of what I was taught,” Hunt said of the kick. “I was excited. I just started running around the field and waving my hands. I didn’t know what to do.”
There wasn’t a more poetic way for the game to play out for the Wildcats than for the defense to lead the way.
Shorter’s calling card for his entire career and the Wildcats’ heartbeat was the MVP of the game. Mendenhall put up 292 yards, but the Wildcats made things incredibly difficult. Mendenhall scored a touchdown in the first quarter and wouldn’t score another point until the final 2 minutes of the ballame when the Tigers tied it up.
Kendon Sanders was named the player of the game with his 13 tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss. Moore had eight tackles and 2.5 TFL, and the game-changing forced fumble.
Dangerous quarterback Tayton James made some plays with his 15-of-24 passing for 140 yards, two touchdowns, and 18 carries for 32 yards. He made some plays, but the Wildcats made things difficult.
“Our defense has been playing good all year, and I told them that this was going to come down to a defensive battle,” Shorter said. “Watching (Mendenhall) on film, they’re really good with a really good offense. We knew we had to stop the quarterback, and I thought our defense did a good job stopping him all game.”
The Wildcats offense struggled for most of the day, but they made the most important plays. LHS had just 153 yards with only 19 on the ground. Keyarrion Jackson was 15-of-29 for 134 yards, and Jykevious Goss had five catches for 63 yards.
The group scored on each of its first two possessions, with Sanders scoring from 2 yards away and Nigel Anderson from 7 yards back. It was 14-6 at the end of the first quarter, and that’s where the game stayed until late in the fourth quarter.
That’s when Marcus Allen caught a jump ball for a touchdown from 26 yards away, and a 2-point conversion made it 14-14 with 2:47 left. Then, after a quick stop from Mendenhall, the Tigers were back on the move.
Mendenhall got the ball toward midfield when Moore went after the ball and popped it out as the Wildcats recovered with 32 seconds left.
“I saw him bobbling the ball, so I just told myself I had to make a play. It was very big, and we’re blessed,” Moore said. “We know that defense wins championships, so we had to put the team on our back, come out here and just go.”
A 19-yard run from Jaden Triplett set up Hunt for the field goal for the win.
The victory pushed Louisville to the top of the leaderboard in the state of Mississippi with 11 trophies all time, tying them with South Panola and West Point. In addition, the program is the only one in Mississippi history to win a title in every decade and the only one to win ten or more titles without a loss in the big game.
Shorter just wanted to make sure to continue the legacy.
“The one thing about it is I didn’t want to be the one coach that came down here and lost it,” Shorter said. “I told our guys that it wasn’t about us – it’s about the tradition of our program. So for me to be a part of all the Hall of Fame coaches that came through here, we wanted to continue to build the tradition.
“When I got here, this senior class was freshmen, and I told them that there was no reason that Louisville shouldn’t be leading the state in state championships. Our mission was to tie it, and that’s what we did.”
