Noxapater head football coach isn’t even trying to attempt to undersell the importance of his Tigers’ Friday night home contest against West Lowndes.
Both teams are 4-1 in Region 2-1A play and the winner has the inside path to finishing second in the division and earning a home game in the first round of the MHSAA 1A State Football Playoffs on Friday night.
“It’s a big game,” Orr said “It’s got a lot of impact on the playoffs as far as seedings go.”
He said the Panthers, who are 7-1 overall and have been one of the surprise teams in Class 1A are a formidable foe. The Panthers only loss is to top-ranked Nanih Waiya 32-21.
“They are big and fast and physical,” he said of the Panthers. “They are a good football team and are really dangerous.”
Orr said he was particularly concerned with the playmaking abilities of senior Qua Sanders, a 6-foot-2, 180-pounder.
“They will run anything offensively under the Sun,” he said. “They are hard to prepare for, and they move No. 5 (Sanders) all over the place. Last week he caught a touchdown pass and threw one. He is just a very versatile player.
“The key for us is finding No. 5 and getting some hats on him,” he said.
The Tigers fell behind early last week in their 39-7 road win over French Camp. The homestanding FCA Panthers scored on their first possession, but Noxapater’s K.D. Carter returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown and D.J. Kelly booted the point after to tie the game and snatched away the momentum.
Carter added three rushing touchdowns to his total, while Raheem Hathorn added a pair as the Tigers dominated the remainder of the contest, which was moved to a Thursday night due to weather concerns.
Carter finished the night with 150 rushing yards on 10 carries while Hathorn had 15 attempts for 115 yards.
Ryan Whitfield had a huge game defensively, recording 10 tackles including six tackles for losses, one of which was a sack. Dontavious Rush had four tackles for the Tigers, while Hathorn recovered a fumble.
