After Nanih Waiya pulled out of their season opener with Noxapater, the Tigers are anxious to find a game to play this past week.
They found a game, just not the results they wanted as they dropped a 35-0 decision to visiting Eupora on Friday night.
Noxapater coach Roy Rigsby said he team played hard but was outmanned in several areas.
“They have some athletes and are well coached,” Rigsby said. “I think what hurt us is they have numbers and we didn’t. It’s a big difference in the numbers. It was 13-0 in the middle of the third and we gave them those two scores. I thought our guys played hard and as well as you can expect. We just ran out of gas.”
The Tigers struggled on offense while Eupora built a 13-0 lead at the half.
“When you look at the box score, it’s evident that we were able to move the ball and had chances to score,” Rigsby said. “We had chances to score and turned the ball over and basically just gave them scores. The fight and heart was there and I’m proud of them for how they played. We will make adjustments going forward.”
Eupora had 279 yards rushing on 35 carries and 62 yards passing on 5-of-8 attempts. On defense, Kyle Phillips led the Tigers with 12 tackles while Emmanuel Carter had eight tackles and a fumble recovery. Caleb Ellingburg had five tackles and two sacks as well.
This week’s game
The Tigers will take part in a historic contest this week as they make the short trip to Louisville to take on Winston Academy for the first time in school history.
Rigsby understands the importance of the contest.
“It’s a new game and a big game for both teams,” Rigsby said. “We understand what’s going on and we respect them. It may not be Nanih Waiya but it’s very similar to that kind of game. Our players know each other and there are plenty of bragging rights up for grabs. That’s where I say it’s going to be a highly competitive game.”
Rigsby said he had seen some film of Winston, who is 1-1 on the season after losing 35-7 to Leake Academy in the opener and beating Canton 36-24 last week.
“They are going to be well coached,” Rigsby said. “They won against Canton last week and showed a lot of fight. The quarterback is a very good player and is very accurate with the ball and his anticipation is above average. He’s the catalyst for their offense.”
