In a way, last Friday night’s season opener for Louisville and Noxubee County was fitting.
It was Tyrone Shorter’s first game as the head coach of the Wildcats and it just so happened to be on a field where he spent the previous 20 years coaching in Macon. The defensive-minded head man built a juggernaut on that side of the ball and won state championships led b that defense. Nothing changed with Louisville and that mindset has existed there too.
When the dust settled on Friday, the bizarre result was that not a single offensive point was scored. The game ended in a 2-0 victory for Noxubee and left a sour taste in the mouth of Shorter and the rest of his team as they searched for answers.
“We’re still learning this team,” Shorter said in his coach’s show this week. “We knew that we could play some defense and our defense pitched a shutout. We plan on doing that a lot this season. Our offense struggled. We moved the ball up and down the field but we had too many mistakes. We’ve got to correct the mistakes that we made offensively and move forward.”
The biggest mistake of the game was all it took to cost the Wildcats the victory on Friday. Midway through the third quarter and the game scoreless, a snap was fumbled in the end zone and recovered for a safety. That’s all it took for the Tigers to move to 1-0 and LHS to start Shorter’s tenure on the wrong side of the ledger.
But that fumble was one of three in the game for the Wildcats. Two of them were recovered by the Tigers and another turnover came from an interception. Then there’s the flip side of things. Louisville’s defense allowed just two first downs and 63 yards of offense. It makes for something good to take away from a night that was so disappointing for the Wildcats.
Focusing on the positives and moving on from the negatives will be key for LHS this week as they get no rest. Up next for them is the three-time defending Class 5A state champions of West Point as the Green Wave travels down the highway to Louisville.
Last week, West Point made a statement to the rest of the state that they’re going nowhere after they demolished defending Class 6A champion Horn Lake 34-6. West Point was the same wrecking ball as it has been as it racked up 328 yards rushing from nine different ball carriers. They were led last week by Brandon Harris who had 14 carries for 161 yards and two touchdowns and Dantariyus Cannon who rushed just five times but for 109 yards and a score. They have Jimothy Mays in that mix as well and the three-headed monster is very much ripe for a fourth-straight title.
“West Point is going to be West Point and I’m very familiar with them. They’re not going to beat themselves,” Shorter said. “We might stop them for three quarters and then in the fourth quarter they might hit three big runs. They’re going to try to slow the game down and catch you slipping. They capitalize on your mistakes so we most definitely have to go into this ball game and correct all of those mistakes that we made. If you make those mistakes you’ll get beat.”
Players and coaches alike are ready to get back on the field and prove that they’re better than Friday night. Shorter believes he’ll find a lot out about his first Wildcat team when the ball is kicked.
“I’m anxious to see how well this team takes adversity. We can move forward and get better or we can quit,” Shorter said. “This is not my first rodeo starting off with a loss in the first game and winning a state championship. We’re going to move forward.”
M.C. Miller returns to high school
sidelines
By Robbie Robertson
Winston County Journal
Former Louisville and Noxubee County football coach M.C. Miller didn’t stay retired from football for long.
Miller was recently named the defensive coordinator at Newton High School where he will reunite with former player Zach Grady, who is in his second year with the Tigers.
“We played in the scrimmage at Louisville and I saw coach Miller there,” Grady said. “We got talking and I told him I was short-handed. One thing led to another and I asked him if he would come help me and he said that he would.”
Miller was the defensive coordinator at Louisville in Grady’s sophomore season before taking the head job at Noxubee County. There, Miller took a down-trodden program and turned it into a Class 4A powerhouse. Miller left Noxubee to take the head job at Louisville and did the same thing there and retired after winning the state championship this past season.
Grady said he hopes Miller can help him in his rebuilding efforts at Newton.
“Having somebody that knows how to take a program from where we are to where we want to be is huge,” Grady said. “I don’t think anybody would disagree with me on that. He is going to be a huge asset to our kids. He can take over defense and I don’t have to worry about that. It’s tough when you are trying to do everything. Having an extra set of eyes makes everything go a lot smoother.”
