The Noxapater Tigers flexed their defensive muscle last week in a preseason jamboree against Pelahatchie and McLaurin.
The Tigers won 13-0 against Pelahatchie and 6-0 against McLaurin in a pair of one-quarter contest.
Second-year Noxapater coach Caleb Kelly said he was pleased with the effort of his defense.
“I thought we did a great job of putting up zeroes on the board,” Kelly said. “I thought the defense had a great night. We did miss some opportunities on defense. We dropped a couple of picks and I was sick about that. But I thought we were the most physical team out there and that feels good going to week one of the season against Southeast.”
Against Pelahatchie, Noxapater won 13-0 as A.J. Robertson and Demarkus McCully scored.
Against McLaurin, JyKavius Riddle scored as the Tigers won 6-0.
“I thought we did a good job of running the football,” Kelly said. “And that goes back to the offensive line. We are solid up front and have a good group up there. We have four running backs that I am comfortable with and trying to find the right 1-2 punch and that’s what we did.”
Kelly said he also saw things his team needs to work on.
“We have to get off the field on third down on defense,” Kelly said. “We allowed too many conversion. And we have to execute the big plays. We dropped fade passes and have to catch those when they are open. We have to execute the big play when it’s called. And on defense, you have to get those interceptions. You have to take advantage of those opportunities when you get the chance.”
This week’s game
Noxapater will host Southeast Lauderdale in a battle of Tigers.
Southeast struggled to an 0-10 record and Kelly said his team is going in somewhat blind.
“They didn’t play in a jamboree so we don’t have any film on them,” Kelly said. “We just had to go where there head coach was last year at Loyd Star. We are expecting a 5-2 on defense and man coverage on defense. On offense, we expect a double-wing offense or even a single-wing. They could even be spread and we will be prepared for whatever they give us. We have to be prepared for each spectrum of the game. It’s kind of hard when you don’t have film but I think we will be fine. We are playing with a lot of confidence and that always helps.”
