There were plenty of positives to take away from Louisville’s non-conference portion of the football schedule.
The Wildcats had a giant win over the state’s second best team in West Point and had tough opponents Starkville and Noxubee County as well. It was good enough for a 4-2 start heading into Class 4A, Region 4 play, but none of those games matter when the postseason comes around next month.
It was imperative for the Wildcats to come out and take care of business right away as division play started on the road at Northeast Lauderdale last Friday night. After some early momentum from the home team, they did just that as they routed Northeast for a 35-7 victory.
“For us to come out and play the way we did in all three phases in the first district game, we were very pleased. Those first six ball games prepared us for division and it was important for us to win that first division ball game especially on the road,” head coach Tyrone Shorter said.
The Wildcats (5-2, 1-0 Region 4) dominated the ground game for four quarters as Michael Foster led the way with 13 carries and 120 yards with two touchdowns. A total of seven different players got to tote the rock on Friday and they racked up 9.2 yards per rush with 312 yards on the ground and four rushing touchdowns.
Drea Shumaker did keep Northeast honest as he hit 9-of-16 passes for 163 yards and another score.
It took a bit for the offense to really get going, however. The Wildcats actually trailed a few minutes into the ball game and they didn’t even score in the first quarter. But things got rolling pretty early then.
Foster finished off the first scoring drive with a 2-yard touchdown at 11:08 to tie the game and they took the lead soon after as Foster scored again on a 3-yard rush to make it 14-7.
“We just came out and blew some assignments and they ended up scoring. They ran a really good scheme on offense. We corrected those mistakes and got running,” Shorter said. “I liked the way that our guys handled that. They didn’t lose their composure.”
Shumaker got the passing game involved on the next possession as he hit Niselbyion Kirk for a 25-yard score and they capped the four-touchdown quarter with Omauri Macon recovering a fumble and Shumaker running in a 13-yard touchdown after the offense took over.
It was 28-7 at the break and all over but the shouting from there. The benches emptied in the second half just as they did the week prior as Shorter was able to get his young players some time. Quez Thames came in to score on a 4th and 2 from the 3 yard line and provide the 35-7 win.
It was just the start that Shorter and his team were hoping for in week one of district play and now they’re hoping for even more from week two as they seek to get better each game.
