Tradition doesn’t graduate but it’s important to have the right head man in charge of the program to help guide the players down the right path.
Louisville High School just so happens to have everyone pulling in the right direction after M.C. Miller retired and his replacement was named. It was the same man that continued winning long after Miller left Noxubee County High School and is hoping to do more of the same now that he’s followed Miller for the second time.
That man is Tyrone Shorter, a coach that was a key piece to building Noxubee into a state power with four state championships in eight years as the school’s head coach and a record of 89-28 over that stretch. That included a 7-3 record against his former mentor and coach Miller in what has been a strong rivalry between Louisville and Noxubee and only gets stronger now that he’s the second-straight head coach to leave Macon for Louisville.
Why leave home for a program that he’s been successful against in the past? Because Shorter sees so much potential coming up through the ranks at the school and an unlimited wealth of talent for a school that is amongst the leaders in the state in championships.
“They’re the same kids I’m used to — they’re very talented. You find so many more diamonds in the rough here and there’s a larger talent pool to pull from here,” Shorter said of his players. “I like physical kids. They’re not the country kids I’m used to but they’re very similar. You can coach them hard and I was worried coming in on how I’ll be able to coach them. If they can handle myself and the coaching staff everything else will take care of itself.”
Shorter is inheriting a really good situation after the Wildcats won the Class 4A state championship last year for the ninth state title and second under Miller. It sent the coach out a winner and in impressive fashion, too, as LHS had 15-straight wins following a season-opening loss to Class 5A state champ West Point.
The veteran coach wouldn’t have taken the job had he not known what was returning for the Wildcats. They bring back one of their best offensive weapons in Dre Shumaker at quarterback after he filled in for most of the season for an injured Deonte Yarbrough before the senior returned for a strong finish to the year.
Shumaker had 1,108 passing yards and 11 touchdowns last year on top of rushing for over 400 yards and six touchdowns and receiving another 256 yards and three more touchdowns. They bring back David Haynes and Niselbyion Kirk at wide receiver and several offensive linemen to keep the offense clicking.
He’s been impressed with the talent on offense to this point, but most importantly the team’s approach on a daily basis. They’ve done exactly what he wants them to do both in the spring and in fall camp.
“These kids are fun to coach because they get after it. They’re competitive,” Shorter said. “I knew exactly what they had coming back. I had an idea of where we were. I love our receiving corp. I like our quarterback. I think our biggest task is we had to put together a really good offensive line. That’s what we’re working at.”
On defense, this group lines up exactly how Shorter wants a defense to and very similar to how his Noxubee defenses have in the past. It’s nothing new for the coach who has had to go up against a Louisville defense on a yearly basis and he’s happy to be able to coach a program that has produced great players in the last few years like Jeremy Sangster, Ashanti Cistrunk, Charles Moore and others.
Cistrunk and Moore are big losses from a year ago as they went to Ole Miss and Auburn respectively, but there is a next-man-up mentality at Louisville. The team’s leading tackler is back in middle linebacker Kristian Hopkins who made 146 stops a year ago. Edge player Jy’Kevious Hibbler is also back and can line up at end or at outside linebacker. He led the team with 15.0 sacks a year ago. Their athleticism and toughness is a good place to start.
“Defensively, I always like to build my team on speed,” Shorter said. “As long as you’re physical and can run you can play with anyone. It’s the type of players that I want on my defense right here.”
The schedule remains a tough one for Shorter and LHS as the coach has never backed down from a challenge. He played West Point and Starkville on a yearly basis with the Tigers and he’ll continue to do that now that he’s changed schools.
On top of that, LHS will start the season on the road at Noxubee County in what is bound to be a bitter opening night in the state of Mississippi. The Tigers have moved down to Class 3A as the Wildcats stay in Class 4A, but the rivalry will not diminish.
That’s followed up by the first home game against West Point on the 30th of August then road games at Columbus and Starkville to really test the team’s strength. It should prepare them for Class 4A, Region 4 matchups against Northeast Lauderdale, Choctaw Central, West Lauderdale, Leake Central and Kosciusko that won’t present near the challenges of the non-conference schedule.
“If people know me and have followed me, I love a tough non-division schedule,” Shorter said. “It’s easy for me to make an adjustment on what we need to work on heading into division. The schedule that we have is just as tough as you can get. It’s going to help us as a team. Every game you have to really be prepared. I’m excited about the schedule.”
Despite changing locations and team colors, Shorter’s goal doesn’t change. He has more fingers to occupy with rings.
