Noxubee County Serves Notice to Class 4A

WEST POINT, Miss., - All winning streaks come to an end eventually.

West Point had two such streaks snapped in a big way Friday night as Noxubee County gained MHSAA 4A Region 4 supremacy with a 42-0 shutout.

The loss ended the Green Wave's 23 game district winning streak dating back to 2004 and also broke up their six-game run over Noxubee County.

"It was time to turn it around," said Noxubee County head coach M.C. Miller. "The guys just came out and played well. I've been preaching all week and they just responded. I didn't think it was going to be like this though but we're just glad to get out of here and get a victory."

The Tigers improved to 5-0 overall and turned the tables on West Point, who had recorded a shutout in five of the last six meetings.

"We wanted to let people know that we are for real," Miller said. "A lot of people have said we haven't played anybody but I think we have played a pretty good schedule. We are just glad to continue doing what we've been doing. West Point was a good team and I think we just surprised them a couple of times and got them off key."

Noxubee County showed balance chewing up 341 total yards on the evening. The Tigers tallied 174 yards through the air and also gained 167 yards on the ground.

"We can do both," Miller said. "If they shut us down in the pass, we can run the ball. But when you can get both of them going, you're going to be in pretty good shape. We can do either one of them but our main game is throwing the ball. We love to throw the ball."

Termarcus Conner paced the Noxubee County passing attack completing 4-of-13 passing for 151 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while Patrick Patterson hauled in four passes for 103 yards and a score.

"It feels good to come out on top," Patterson said. "We've been down the last six years and we came out tonight and did what we have to do. We just had to come out and eliminate a lot of mistakes and keep the penalties down."

Patreon Hopkins led the Tiger ground game with 94 yards on 12 carries while Earnest Harmon gained 62 yards on 15 totes and two touchdowns.

"The offensive line did a good job because they kept moving the ball on them," Miller said.

Noxubee County wasted little time putting points on the board during its second possession. The Tigers drove 63 yards in eight plays and crossed the goal line on a 2-yard dive by Harmon. Patterson added PAT for the early 7-0 lead with 5:43 in the opening quarter.

West Point looked to counter the deficit with a score of its own driving into the red zone but a botched quarterback-center exchange resulted in a turnover for the Tigers as they fell on the fumble.

"It was big but it shouldn't have been a momentum shift," said West Point head coach Chris Chambless. "That is one thing that we have got to get in our players heads. Stuff like that is going to happen but you've got to overcome stuff like that. You have to comeback and play hard."

But the Green Wave came up with a big defensive play of its own on the next drive when Antyone Adams intercepted Conner. But West Point's offense dug itself a hole with two more fumbled snaps on the next series forcing another punt.

The game remained 7-0 until the quick strike Tiger offense struck immediately following a pass interference penalty. Conner tossed a screen pass out to Teddy Young to the right and he did the rest. Young looked in the pass and juked his way across the field 50-yards for the score. Patterson missed the extra point leaving the score 13-0 heading into the half.

Noxubee County struck again with 5:23 on the clock of the third quarter. The Tigers took advantage of some big gainers to get inside the red zone and score on a 9-yard run by Harmon. The two-point conversion failed keeping the score 20-0.

Shortly before the end of the third quarter, the Green Wave took a defensive hit when Ole Miss commitment Markell Lee was tossed from his second game of the season for unsportsmanlike conduct.

On the first play of the fourth quarter West Point's Michael Carr, who attempted to play through an injured ankle, was picked off by Vincent Sanders. Sanders snagged the Tiger turnover after the ball ricocheted in the air at the WP 38-yard line.

Noxubee County did not hesitate to go for the quick score as Conner threw a 38-yard scoring strike to Patterson on the first play from scrimmage. Patterson also grabbed the two-point conversion from Conner giving the Tigers a 25-0 lead at that point.

But things only continued to get worse from that point for West Point. On the ensuing kickoff, Gary Hughes muffed the return and the ball was covered up by the Tigers.

Noxubee County made sure the Green Wave paid for their mistake, driving 77 yards in nine plays capped off by a 2-yard run by Danarius Hunt with 8:27 remaining on the clock. Conner connected with Harmon for the two-point play for a 35-0 advantage.

The Tiger defense accounted for the final points of the evening as Sanders intercepted is second pass of the contest and returned it 85 yards to pay dirt with 6:55 to go. Raycardo Harper added the point after to wrap up the scoring.

West Point was limited to only 193 yards of total offense on the night and had three turnovers. The Green Wave ran for 130 yards and only accumulated 63 yards via the air.

"We just learned a lesson," Chambless said. "That's the main thing; you learn a lesson from it. One thing that we tell them is you either win or you learn. Tonight we learned so we've got to comeback and put our best efforts forward and try to get things done. We have to see who has the pride and heart to get it done."

Lakendric Thomas paced the West Point run game with 48 yards on nine carries.

Cedric Burns completed only 2-of-7 passing for 63 yards and an interception while Curtis Hall hauled in both catches for 63 yards.

The Green Wave dropped to 2-1 in district play and 5-1 overall this season.

"We don't lose very often and when you do it hurts," Chambless said. "It's hurting right now and it is hurting everybody. We've just got to learn from it and move on."

Both teams will be on the road next Friday with Noxubee County traveling to Louisville while the Green Wave bus to Kosciusko.

Noxubee County 42, West Point 0

Noxubee County 7 6 6 23 – 42

West Point 0 0 0 0 – 0

1st Quarter:

NC Earnest Harmon 2-yard run (Patrick Patterson kick) 5:43

2nd Quarter:

NC Teddy Young 50-yard pass from Termarcus Conner (kick failed) 2:20

3rd Quarter:

NC Earnest Harmon 9-yard run (two-point conversion failed) 5:23

4th Quarter:

NC Patrick Patterson 38-yard pass from Termarcus Conner (Patrick Patterson pass from Termarcus Conner) 11:43

NC Danarius Hunt 2-yard run (Earnest Harmon pass from Vincent Sanders) 8:27

NC Vincent Sanders 85-yard interception return (Raycardo Harper kick) 6:53

Team Stats:

Rushing: NC 174, WP 130

Passing: NC 167, WP 63

Total: NC 341, WP 193

First Downs: NC 15, WP 7

Return Yards: NC 33, WP 19

Turnovers: NC 1, WP 3

Penalties: NC 6-35, WP 5-60

Rushing: NC- Patreon Hopkins 12-94, Earnest Harmon 15-62 2 TD, Termarcus Conner 4-25, Danarius Hunt 3-3 TD, Shaunny Roby 2-2, Vincent Sanders 1-0, Team 1-0, Patrick Patterson 2-(-12); WP- Lakendric Thomas 9-48, Xavier Hogan 8-32, Darren Ewing 14-27, Cedric Burns 4-21, Jeremy Cannon 3-4, Michael Carr 1-1, Team 3-(-3)

Passing: NC- Termarcus Conner 4-13-151-2-1, Vincent Sanders 2-2-16; WP- Cedric Burns 2-7-63-0-1, Michael Carr 0-2-0-0-1

Receiving: NC- Patrick Patterson 4-103 TD, Teddy Young 2-64 TD; WP- Curtis Hall 2-63