The Noxapater Tigers got a tough, physical test before they start division play this week.
The Tigers fought for four quarters with Eupora but came short as the Eagles scored 22 straight
points and were able to run out the clock to take a 28-22 win over Noxapater on Friday night in
a driving rain.
Noxapater falls to 2-3 on the season and will begin division play this week at French Camp.
Coach Caleb Kelly said he thought his team played well enough to win but some costly
turnovers hurt the Tigers in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we played a good game for the most part,” Kelly said. “I thought there were about
three or four minutes that we made some mistakes in that we couldn’t recover from. We just
made too many mistakes to win against a good team. But I was proud of the fight that our kids
showed. They have a really talented quarterback but I thought we contained him. We fumbled
three times and when you do that, you are going to have some issues.”
The two teams traded punts to start the game but Noxapater got the better end of it and got
the ball at the Eupora 24. Four plays later, A.J. Robertson scored on a 10-yard run. The try for
two was good and the Tigers led 8-0 with 5:39 left in the first quarter.
After another Eupora punt, the Tigers fumbled and gave to bal black to the Eagles. Eupora then
went 41 yards in eight plays and scored on a 2-yard quarterback keeper. The try for two failed
and Noxapater held a slim 8-6 lead late in the first quarter.
Eupora put together two eight-play drives but turned the ball over on downs and fumbled
inside the Noxapater 10 as the Tigers led 8-6 at the half.
“From watching them on film, I thought they might have been down but they were good and
have gotten a lot better,” Kelly said of Eupora. “They had a really good rhythm and were decent
in the run game with the quarterback. I thought they used him well.”
Eupora got the ball to start the second half but fumbled on the third play. The Tigers then
scored on the next play on a 23-yard run from Robertson. The try for two failed and Noxapater
led 14-6.
Eupora answered with a six-play, 65-yard drive and scored on a 30-yard run with 6:41 left in the
third quarter. The try for two failed as Noxapater held on for a 14-12 lead.
The Tigers then turned the ball over on downs at the Eupora 44. The Eagles answered with a
nine-play drive and scored on a 5-yard run on the last play of the third quarter. The try for two
was good and the Eagles took their first lead at 20-14.
Two plays later, Noxapater fumbled and gave the Eagles another short field. This time, Eupora
went 37 yards in six plays and scored on a 6-yard run to take a 28-14 lead.
Noxapater answered with a big run as Pankey scored on a 58-yard run with 7:13 left to play.
Riddle ran in the two-point conversion and the Tigers cut the lead to 28-22.
Eupora put together a 10-play drive to run the clock out and take the win.
The Tigers had a solid night rushing the football with 205 yards on just 27 carries. Pankey led
the way with 81 yards on five carries while Riddle had 61 yards on 13 carries but also had two
fumbles. A.J. Robertson had 56 yards rushing on eight carries.
On defense, Vontavious Triplett led the Tigers with 17 tackles while T.K. Wilson had 11 tackles.
J’Cameron Riley had 10 tackles while Demarcus McCully had eight tackles. Ryan Parker had
seven tackles while Quen Stephens and Davion Holmes each had six tackles. A.J. Robertson and
Triplett each had a fumble recovery for the Tigers.
This week’s game
The Tigers will hit the road this week as they head to French Camp to take on the winless
Panthers.
The Panthers have struggled with an 0-5 start with losses to West Lowndes (52-30), Eupora (40-
6), Vardaman (41-0), Pisgah (39-6) and Central Holmes (24-12).
“I know as far as effort, they will play with a lot of effort and toughness,” Kelly said. “I do think
we will have the advantage with size and speed. They are still trying to find some guys to step
up. We play them close every year and had to come back and win last year. But I think we are in
a good position to handle business this year.”
Last year, Noxapater won 48-42.
