It wasn’t an easy week for Noxapater football coach Roy Rigsby.
With starting quarterback K.D. Carter quarantined, backup quarterback Donnie Chunn decided to transfer to Winston Academy on Wednesday.
So on Thursday, Rigsby turned to junior Kyle Phillips to run his offense.
Phillips and the Tigers responded as they took a hard-fought 13-12 win over Coffeeville on Friday night.
Noxapater improves to 1-2 on the season and will host West Lowndes to open division play.
“First of all, I’m proud of our football team,” Rigsby said. “When you think about the adversity that we have been facing with Covid and guys missing and being without our leader in K.D. Carter and then we lost a kid to Winston, it’s been really tough but they stepped up and found a way to win this week. We kept it simple and concentrated on the run to shorten the game. We have a really good defense and basically relied on them. I can’t be prouder of the kids.”
After Chunn left the program on Wednesday, Rigsby said they simplified the offense and used Thursday’s walk through to get Phillips ready.
“The main thing I was proud of was his ability to keep the team believing and his ability to be a leader,” Rigsby said. “He’s a good receiver and a good skill player but it’s a different deal when you have to be the quarterback. But he kept them calm. That’s a lot of adversity and he only had a half a day of practice. He was willing and able to do it. H’s a player maker and we tried to keep the ball in his hands and it showed up several times when he made plays.”
Noxapater’s first score came in second quarter when Phillips scored on a 20-yard touchdown run. D.J. Kelly hit the PAT to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
But the Tigers were trailing 12-7 in the third quarter when Emmanuel Carter scored on a 10-yard run as the Tigers went up 13-12.
“They got close in the third but our defense held them out,” Rigsby said. “They really didn’t get close in the fourth. Our defense played lights out in the fourth and we were able to hold on for the win.”
The Tigers had 128 yards rushing and 18 passing for 146 yards of total offense.
Phillips led the offense with 58 yards on 11 carries while Carter had 30 yards rushing on 13 carries with a touchdown.
Carter also led the defense with 10 tackles while Jimmy Graham had six tackles. Christopher Dale also had six tackles while Ethan Easley had five tackles.
This week’s game
The Tigers will begin division play this week as they host West Lowndes on Friday night.
The Panthers are 1-2 on the season. They lost 21-7 to Biggersville win the season opener and then beat Okolona 28-12. Last week, they lost a 24-22 decision to Tupelo Christian.
“They are very athletic and you can tell that they are well coached,” Rigsby said. “They have multiple playmakers and play an aggressive style of defense. They run multiple formations on defense. Sometimes they will spread you out and sometimes they will bring you in tight in the wing T.”
Last year, West Lowndes beat Noxapater 37-7.
