After the performance he put on last Friday night against them, it’s safe to say the Hamilton High School football team isn’t too excited that Noxapater’s K.D. Carter is just a sophomore.
He scored five of the seven times he touched the ball as the now 8-3 Tigers rolled to a solid 40-13 road win in Region 2-1A play.
Carter had three carries — all of which went for touchdowns — for 149 yards, caught three passes, one of which was a scoring play, and returned a punt for a touchdown for the Tigers who locked down second place int he region and assured themselves of hosting a first-round game when the MHSAA Class 1A State Football Playoffs begin on Friday, Nov. 18.
Noxapater looks to close out the regular season this Friday night when they play host to a winless Vardaman team at 7. While Noxapater head coach Casey Orr said he knew the final three games wouldn’t be as tough as the earlier part of the season, he said his Tigers will be facing a stubborn foe in Vardaman.
“I feel like they are the best of the teams we will play in the last three games (of the regular season)” Orr said. “They throw the ball pretty well and I am glad we get to see that. They play hard. Our team needs to play a gritty team. We will need to be focused.”
Noxapater’s first-round foe will be the loser of the Myrtle-Baldwyn game on Friday night.
Orr was pleased with the way his team looked on the offensive side of the ball in the win over Hamilton.
“I thought offensively we had one of our better nights,” Orr said. “We ran just 17 plays on offense and scored 40 points. I thought defensively there was a lack of passion and effort. Hamilton had more success than I thought they would have. We didn’t tackle well and have to work on that this week.”
Carter scored on a 65-yard punt return in the first half, while also scoring on a 70-yard touchdown run, and two of the slightly shorter variety. Raheem Hathorn scored on a 35-yard run as the Tigers jumped out to a 33-7 halftime lead. The Tigers added another score in the third quarter when backup quarterback Donnie Chunn connected with Carter on a 15-yard scoring pass.
Hathorn recorded 12 tackles for the winners, while Lane Bailey had 11, and Ryan Whitfield 10. Kyler Carter was in on eight stops and Sawyer Roberts seven. In all Noxapater recorded a whopping 16 tackles behind the line of scrimmage against Hamilton.
