Greenwood walked off the field in Macon a 21-0 loser to Noxubee County nearly 365 days ago. It’s a painful memory that is still quite fresh in the minds of the Bulldogs.
The loss in the North state 4A finals ended Greenwood’s season and its hopes for its first trip to the state championship game since 1988 — while the Tigers went on to beat Saint Stanislaus 48-27 en route to their third state crown in six years.
Every thing the Bulldogs have done since that stinging defeat to Noxubee has been about gaining another shot at state.
“I told our kids walking off that field last year that we would get back to this spot and have another chance at Noxubee,” GHS coach Clinton Gatewood said.
But with so many key personnel losses to graduation, including quarterback Booker T. Chambers and four of his offensive linemen, there were many outside of Greenwood who doubted the team’s chances of making another run at a state championship.
And yet here we are, with Greenwood (12-1) and Noxubee (10-4) battling it out Friday night at Bulldog Stadium with a berth in the 4A championship on the line. The winner will face the Saint Stanislaus-Lawrence County winner Dec. 5 at 3 p.m. at Ole Miss’ Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Gatewood expects a better effort this time around against the Tigers.
“Last year, our guys were just happy to make North state. This team is much more focused and on a mission. Our kids won’t stop until we win state,” said the sixth-year GHS head coach. “We knew if we handled our business, we would have to go through Noxubee to reach our goal.”
The Tigers come in on an eight-game winning streak, including last week’s 56-27 thrashing of Houston. After impressive season-opening victories against Starkville and Columbus, Noxubee lost at Aledo, Texas, and suffered a rash of injuries that helped lead to three straight losses to Meridian, West Point and Kemper County.
But Noxubee head coach Tyrone Shorter says his team is fully healthy and playing “great football” at the right time.
“Once we got some guys back, we picked things up and got rolling,” Shorter said. “But we know this is a tough matchup with Greenwood. It’s two talented teams with a lot of speed.”
Greenwood comes in riding an 11-game win streak that includes three close calls in the postseason (19-14 over Ripley, 13-12 over Louisville and 23-22 over Kosciusko).
Offensively, both use spread attacks that are quite balanced when it comes to throwing and running, but the Tigers and Bulldogs are where they are because of stout defenses. They have two of the stingiest defenses in the statewide 4A ranks, with GHS allowing just 11.31 points a game and Noxubee 14.3.
Greenwood senior quarterback Damarius Ray left last week’s playoff game late in the third quarter with a possible mild concussion. He was replaced by junior Tranleson Tribblett, who completed 5 of 9 passes for 107 yards and had a 2-yard touchdown run.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Gatewood said Ray’s avaliability was unknown.
“We feel good about both guys. If Ray can’t go, we know what we have in (Tribblett),” Gatewood said.
Defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons, ranked the top high school prosect in the state by several recruiting sites, missed six games during the regular season after having ankle surgery. The 6-4, 270-pounder has 86 tackles, including 70 solos, and is the team leader in tackles for loss (14.5) and sacks (11).
He had four of his team’s seven sacks against Greenwood last year.
Noxubee starting middle linebacker Kalmorris Robinson was ejected from last week’s win against Houston and won’t be able to play until late in the second quarter against Greenwood due to the ejection, Shorter said.
Noxubee’s offense is centered around quarterback Timorrius Conner, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound senior, who has completed 181 of 266 passes for 2,579 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He is also the team’s leading rusher with 391 yards and six touchdowns on 80 carries.
Conner will face a GHS defense that is led by senior linebackers Tarren Smith and Antwoine Williams and senior end Marquiss Spencer.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
