Friday’s season opener was a major adjustment for the Louisville Wildcats in their run towards defending the Class 4A state championship, but great programs can move on the fly.
The Wildcats were supposed to be starting the season against Class 5A powerhouse West Point but the Green Wave had to forfeit the first two games of the year due to the school going virtual. Coach Tyrone Shorter found a replacement in the form of Gentry and the Wildcats went to work preparing.
When LHS welcomed them in, they got a fight for four quarters but came out on top with the win. The result was the school’s 13th-straight win dating back to last season as they came out on top, 31-12.
It wasn’t a perfect start to the year for Shorter, but he saw his young team grow a bit. Most importantly, they got the win.
“I think we played pretty good,” Shorter said. “We just had a couple of days to prepare for a good Gentry team. We haven’t seen them much and I thought they were big and athletic, but we played well for the first game. We’ve got a lot of work that we’ve got to do.”
It was no surprise that the Wildcats’ offense was ahead of the defense to start the year. The offensive group is returning the bulk of the starters from last season and they played that way with Jace Hudspeth leading the team to 290 yards of total offense.
Hudspeth was 11-of-18 passing for 106 yards and had three carries for 30 yards and a touchdown. Running back Jacorey Coleman rushed 12 times for 82 yards and a score while Emory James had 11 carries for 52 yards and two scores.
The defense didn’t have a bad game in Shorter’s eyes, but there were plenty of things to correct. What Shorter liked the most is that he knows the players are capable of making the plays with corrections.
“We started three sophomores on defense, and we’ve got to tackle better. We were just out of position and missed tackles and that’s going to come with a young group,” Shorter said. “I think we’re headed in the right direction. We’re putting a lot on them and the game is a little bit fast for them right now. We’re going to take it one week and one game at a time. I like what I see. We have a lot of talent we’re just young.”
The Wildcats started the game with a 7-0 lead within a couple of minutes of the game before Gentry answered right back with a score of its own to cut it to 7-6. A field goal from LHS extended that lead out to 10-6 midway through the second quarter.
Emory James tried to get some distance from Gentry less than a minute later when he scored from a yard away, but Gentry answered right back with a score to make it 17-12. That would be the last score of the day from the visitors.
Late in the third quarter, quarterback Jace Hudspeth managed to scramble into the end zone for a 12-yard score to make it 24-12. Jacorey Coleman put the game away for good with a 14-yard touchdown making it 31-12 in the third quarter.
On the defensive side of the ball, Shorter’s crew was led by sophomore Dakota Steele’s 18 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, two pass deflections and a sack. Jeffery Smith Jr. had 14 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack.
“(Steele) was all over the field. I’m excited about those young guys. DJ Miller is another sophomore who had a great game,” Shorter said. “A lot of those guys, it’s the first time being in the fire so we’ve got to be patient with them.”
Next up for LHS is a resurgent Kemper County team. It’s a program that hasn’t always been successful but just won a state championship in 2016. After three years of a total of seven wins, the Wildcats hired former Louisville and Starkville assistant Ray Westerfield.
In year one last year, Westerfield took over a three-win team and led them to eight wins and a Class 3A, Region 5 title and a second round finish in the playoffs. This year’s squad returns several key players like running back Dicenzo Miller Jr. that make the team difficult to game plan for and Shorter likes the challenge ahead.
“It’s going to be a big atmosphere game. It’s a close by school and will be another tough battle,” Shorter said. “(Westerfield) is coming from two great programs and he’s a great coach. He’s got the guys headed in the right direction and they’re playing with discipline and playing hard. They’ve got some guys on offense. It’s going to be a typical Mississippi High School football game.”
