Coming off of a heartbreaking loss to Class 6A Starkville, Louisville couldn’t afford to let that game beat them again against longtime rival Noxubee County.
The “Toothpick Bowl” has been one of the biggest games on the schedule for both teams every year, and this year didn’t change things as the winner is now awarded a trophy. It took a while for LHS to wake up, but the Wildcats made sure to secure that trophy for their own case getting a lead in the third quarter and pulling away in a 21-8 win to finish out non-conference play.
Tyrone Shorter’s first game as LHS head coach coming over from Noxubee was a 2-0 loss to his former team. That might be as indicative a score the rivalry can have, and it looked like it might play out similarly early on Friday.
It was LHS this time that got out to the 2-0 lead. The Wildcats were in position to score a touchdown facing a goal-to-go situation but turned it over on downs. The defense would get them the points a couple of plays later and that lead would stand going to halftime.
Fresh out of the locker room, the Tigers went to work and got into the end zone, putting the Wildcats on notice with an 8-2 lead. That’s when the LHS offense woke up.
Xavier Hunt pushed the team down the field and would find Swahili Earby for a 25-yard pass that would score and get the Wildcats a lead they wouldn’t lose at 9-8. On the next possession, LHS was back in the end zone when Kendon Sanders scored on a 5-yard run that made it 15-8 going to the fourth quarter.
As the LHS defense continued to do its thing, Sanders would score one final touchdown from a yard out that made it 21-8. Sanders had just five carries in the game but made the most of them with the two touchdowns. Jaden Tripplett led the way on the ground with 23 carries for 119 yards out of the 132 the team had.
Xavier Hunt threw for 126 yards on 7-of-17 and had a touchdown and an interception. Earby caught three of those passes for 64 yards and a touchdown.
The defense came to play once again. Gabriel Moore racked up 13 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, and 3.0 sacks. Corxavier Coleman managed 12 tackles in the game with 2.0 sacks, Caden Thompkins had 11 tackles and 5.0 tackles for loss, and Randerous Leonard finished with seven tackles and 4.0 tackles for loss with 3.0 sacks. Laterrious Haynes had an interception in the win.
LHS now ends the first part of its schedule with a very successful 4-1 mark. The team knocked off West Point, Kemper County, Columbus, and Noxubee County and were just a couple of plays away from beating Starkville. The Wildcats now turn to Class 4A, Region 4 play and will be at home on Friday night to take on Northeast Lauderdale. The Trojans are 3-2 with losses to Northeast Jones and Heidelberg and victories over Wilkinson County, Southeast Lauderdale, and Forest.
