A switch flipped for the Louisville Wildcats when they were able to get into Class 4A play and they’re off to the races as the No. 4 team in the state according to the latest polls.
They’re on a four-game winning streak since losing 35-7 to the state’s No. 2 overall team and Class 6A power Starkville. They have wins over Shannon, Yazoo City, Northeast Lauderdale and Choctaw Central by a combined 155-29 and the last two have started them 2-0 in Class 4A, Region 4.
The latest was a 43-14 shellacking of the Warriors from Choctaw Central and a game that was over fairly early in the contest. With impending rain showers on Friday, it was played on Thursday night giving the players an extra long weekend to celebrate the hard work they put in.
“We’re getting better,” head coach Tyrone Shorter said. “We played three phases of the game really well. We were balanced. We don’t want to be one dimensional because we want people to prepare for a lot. I want a lot of different things on film for people to prepare for. I like the way we’re passing the football and I think that our offensive line is doing a great job.”
Balanced the Wildcats were, as they put up 194 yards through the air and they dominated the ground game with 272 yards, averaging 9.7 yards per rush. Drea Shumaker was 11-of-20 in limited action for 159 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. His most productive work came running the football with seven carries for 61 yards and three touchdowns.
Michael Foster again had a big day running the football and he made the most of his first half action with nine carries for 106 yards and a score. Kaleb Mosley found the ball six times at wide receiver and produced 92 yards. Jaquayvius Hawthorne had three catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.
The offense is a whole lot different in Shorter’s eyes after being shutout against Noxubee County in the first game of the season.
“It’s come a long way and it started with the offensive line. We restructured the offensive line and went back to spreading the football out and using our receivers. The receivers are the strong part of the offense and our quarterback is an athlete,” Shorter said. “After the Noxubee game we went back and restructured things.”
That new-look offense sprung into action quickly on Friday night as they scored within the first couple of minutes of the game. Shumaker hit Hawthorne for a 15-yard screen and they got the two-point conversion to boot making it 8-0.
Foster capped off the next drive after a three-and-out busting through the end zone from a yard out and Shumaker got the next score on a 20-yard touchdown run making it 22-0 by the end of the first quarter.
After a fumble went back for a touchdown giving the Warriors a score, the Wildcats came back with Shumaker again scoring from six yards away and he got his third touchdown of the day with a 15-yard run late in the quarter for a 36-7 halftime lead.
Shortly after the homecoming maids had their moment at the half, the benches were cleared by Shorter for yet another week of action for the younger players. The Warriors got a score against the second team defense out of the gates, but backup quarterback Jace Hudspeth led the team down the field and hit Jaquez Thames for a 25-yard score to make it 43-14. A running clock would ensure that there wasn’t much more damage done from there.
