Although most members of the Noxapater High School football team, and coaching staff for that matter, may have never heard of the classic 1970s rock group Bachman Turner Overdrive, they most certainly would have been justified to have BTO’s hit “Takin’ Care of Business” blaring on their headphones on the way home from Biggersville on Friday night.
Because that’s exactly what the Tigers did on Friday night, running the ball at will on the way to a solid 49-26 win in the second round of the MHSAA Class 1A State Football Playoffs, setting up a match-up with rival Nanih Waiya for the North State Championship Friday night. The game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Nanih Waiya.
“I was really proud of our guys,” Noxapater head coach Casey Orr said. “They played really well. We never attempted a pass. We did what we were good at. We got a double digit lead and just kept building it. We were able to get them out of their game, making them play from behind.”
K.D. Carter had five rushing touchdowns and also scored another on a pick six, while Raheem Hathorn punished the Biggersville defense with his thundering running style.
Hathorn rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, while Carter had 18 carries for 150 yards and five scores.
Hathorn was also a terror on defense for the Tigers, recording 12 tackles, including two for a loss. Sawyer Roberts was in on eight stops for the winners including three for a loss, while Chris Roberts also had eight stops.
As has been the case most of the season, the Noxapater defense spent a lot of time in the Biggersville offensive backfield, recorded 12 tackles for losses.
It was just the second loss of the season for Biggersville, which closes out the season at 10-2.
The win was the seventh straight win for the 12-2 Noxapater Tigers, darting back to a 14-2 loss to Nanih Waiya on Oct. 3. It was also the fifth time the Tigers had scored 40 points or more in a game.
