Game week is here for the Louisville Wildcats.
The celebration from a ninth state football championship is over and the pads and helmets have been strapped on for Friday night. It’s a week that Tyrone Shorter has been waiting on since he took over as the new head coach back in the spring and the Wildcats got a chance to get their first taste last weekend in the jamboree.
Hosting the event at RE Hinze Stadium, LHS went up against Class 2A power Philadelphia and Mississippi State wide receiver commitment Lideatrick Griffin. There were some good things and bad things that Shorter took away from the two-quarter scrimmage that Philadelphia won 7-6, but it should be noted that the Wildcats sat starting quarterback Dre Shumaker, top receiver Niselbyion Kirk and others in the game.
“We did a pretty good job. We saw a lot of young kids play and I wanted to see how our backup quarterback performed in certain situations. We’re going to be okay,” Shorter said after the jamboree. “I feel good about this. We’ve got to correct some mistakes and we obviously have to be better in special teams. But we’ll be fine.”
Special teams alone was the difference between winning and losing the scrimmage. The Wildcats drove 90 yards on the second offensive possession of the game with quarterback Cam Sanders and ran the ball down the field capping the drive with a 1-yard score from Sanders.
Shortly after the extra point was blocked, Philadelphia’s star Griffin hauled in the kickoff and ran through and around the Louisville kickoff team all the way for an 80-yard touchdown that would ultimately be the winning score. Other than that, Shorter liked what his team brought to the table, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
When the horn sounded, the coach’s attention immediately went to this Friday night.
It’s going to be a little strange for Shorter who is on the opposite sidelines at Noxubee County for the first time in his coaching career. He was hired by Noxubee out of Port Gibson over 20 years ago to coach M.C. Miller’s secondary. Four years later he was the defensive coordinator and then he became Miller’s successor as the head coach when Miller came to Louisville.
Now he has to try to beat his former team in his first act as head coach at Louisville himself.
“That place has been good to me for over 20 years,” Shorter said of Noxubee. “I know those kids, a lot of administrators, a lot of teachers and a lot of parents. It’s going to be different, but sometimes you have to move on.
“Coach Miller hired me back in 1998 and that was my first job. That place was good to me and I enjoyed my stint there and made a lot of friends. I learned a lot and it prepared me to be in the position I’m in today.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Football is football and I have a good team here. I know it’s going to be crazy there (Friday) but we expect to win the football game. There’s no doubt we’re going to go down (Highway 14) and play some good football.”
