First-year Noxapater head football coach Roy Rigsby is hoping the mixture of a few key veterans, lots of speed, and some talented youngsters leads to success for his debut in the football hungry Winston County town he now calls home. “I know we have a lot of talented kids with a lot of speed,” said Rigsby, who comes to Noxapater after several seasons as the head coach at Natchez High School. “We have some young kids that are really special. We know we need to have to solidify the line, but that’s something we are working on.” Rigsby found himself at a distinct disadvantage when COVID-19 took away any potential spring practice and severely limited what could be doing during the summer. He is still getting to know his players. “We put them on a workout regimen, and did what we could to get ready,” he said. Last season the Tigers finished 12-3, with two of those losses being to eventual MHSAA Class 1A State Champion Nanih Waiya. The toughest of those two losses was a 21-20 thriller in the 1A North State finals. “There’s a lot of tradition here and it’s something we plan to continue to build upon,” said Rigsby. “We look pretty good out on the field, but football in shorts is not football on Friday nights. Some of them just don’t have the experience so you don’t know what they are going to do, and what kind of mentality they are going to have.” The Tigers will be in a spread offense, looking to take advantage of a plethora of skill players. “I thought going in that we were going to be run-oriented, but I think we will be able to have a more balanced offense,” said offensive coordinator Dave McCrory, who was head coach at Ethel High School last season. While veteran quarterback K.D. Carter will spark the offense, there are plenty of weapons to share the football. Jimmy Graham, Don Rush, and Rashad Hornesburger are all expected to run the ball, while Chevy Welborn and Landon Bailey are at H-back. The wideouts are expected to be Javion Eichelberger, Donnie Chunn, Hornesburger, Kyle Phillips, and Taylor Buchanan. The offensive line will be anchored by sophomore center Ethan Yates, with Trey Anderson and Tim Wilson at right guard and McCown Stalcup and Caleb Ellingburg at left guard. The most experience on the line belongs to left tackle Ethan Easley, and right tackle Austin Cole. The place kicker will be senior D.J. Kelly, with Landon Bailey doing the punting and Lane Bailey the long snapping. Defensively, Noxapater will run out of a 4-2 Hybrid alignment. D’Antray Anderson, Tim Wilson, and Easley will be on the interior, while Cole, Ellingburg, and Doreen Moore will be at the ends. The inside linebackers will be Landon Bailey, Cooper McMullen, Jimmy Graham and Chevy Welborn. On the corners the Tigers will have Rush, Phillips, Eichelberger and Jakobi Shoemaker, with Carter, Lane Bailey and Conner Thrash manning the corners. “We want to have a toughness on defense and we plan to be aggressive for sure,” Rigsby said. “We have got to stop the run. If you can’t do that, you don’t have a chance. The kids have the right mentality, we just need to get them to play together.” The Tigers are set to open the season on the road against Starkville Academy — the only other team to defeat Noxapater last season — on Friday, Sept. 4. The first home game is set for Sept. 11 against Smithville. Noxapater Roster 1 K.D. Carter Jr. 2 Donnie Chunn So. 3 Lane Bailey Sr. 4 Rashad Hornesburger Jr. 5 Don Rush Jr. 6 Landon Bailey Sr. 7 Connor Thrash Jr. 8 Jimmy Graham So. 11 Taylor Buchanan Sr. 12 Kyle Phillips So. 13 Roger Towne Fr. 14 Chevy Welborn Sr. 15 Javion Eichelberger So. 17 Taylor Jones Fr. 18 D.J. Kelly Sr. 19 Brandon Baysinger So. 21 Keyloone Moore Jr. 22 Jaden Carter So. 24 Keon Tucker So. 25 Jakobi Shoemaker So. 28 Tydaveian Wraggs So. 32 Caleb Ellingburg Jr. 34 Caden Carter Fr. 44 Brandon Sciple So. 48 Doreen Moore Jr. 50 Tim Wilson Jr. 52 Cooper McMullen Jr. 53 Jamario Calloway Fr. 55 Austin Cole Sr. 60 D’Antray Anderson Sr. 64 McCown Stalcup So. 65 Ethan Yates So. 66 Connor Dixon So. 68 Clay Kugle Jr. 70 Ethan Easley So. 72 Romerio Riddell Fr. 75 Ethan Jones Jr. 77 Noah McCrory Jr.
