By Chris Brennaman / Assistant Sports Editor
MACON — On the road to Jackson and the Class 4A State Championship game, there are speed bumps and then there are mud puddles.
No. 2 Noxubee County found itself facing both Friday night in the second round of the playoffs.
The No. 2 Tigers (11-0) overcame a two-touchdown deficit to knock off Itawamba AHS 28-14 on a rain-soaked, muddy night here at Tiger Stadium.
A huge gust of wind as the teams ran onto the field gave everyone here a glimpse of what was on the way.
The deluge started mere seconds after the opening kickoff bounced into the end zone for a touchback.
The sudden downpour fired up the Nox High players — two of whom used the mud puddle once known as the Noxubee sideline as a "Slip 'n Slide" after the final horn sounded — as fans opened umbrellas or darted for cover.
The excitement quelled a bit after the first play — a 14-yard run by Deshawn McGaughy — and a little more after the third — a 17-yard run by McGaughy. It was completely gone when Temarcus Conner fumbled the center exchange at the Noxubee 25 three plays after an Indian punt.
No. 9 Itawamba (10-2) cashed in on the gift six plays later on a 3-yard quarterback sneak by Malkhail Miller.
The Indians made it 8-0 when Kevin Marks crossed the goal line on the faked extra point.
The slick football led to a second Itawamba score as Conner again fumbled the snap — this time on the first play of the drive.
It took the Indians only two plays and 24 seconds to cover the 35 yards standing between them and a TD. McGaughy went 25 yards on the first play and scored from the 10 on the next. The PAT try was low, leaving it a 14-0 game.
"We've played on a muddy field before, but this was really the first time we've played in the rain," said Noxubee County coach M.C. Miller. "We made a lot of mistakes early, we didn't tackle on the first drive and our quarterback couldn't hold on to the ball."
Trailing by 14 points with 2:56 to play in the first quarter, the Tigers were in the deepest hole they had been in all season. In fact, until Friday the most points Nox had given up in a game was 13.
In the first quarter the Tigers managed only 10 yards of offense and zero first downs. The first time they moved the chains came on a fourth-and-3 when Conner hit Vincent Sanders for a 12-yard pick up.
Two plays later — after another first down — Conner was taken down on a keeper for no gain. He stayed on the field for a couple of minutes before leaving the field on his own power, but unable to put any weight on his right knee.
The senior QB was replaced by Sanders for two plays, which netted 2 yards. The still-limping Conner returned to the field on fourth-and-8 and hit Patrick Patterson for an 18-yard touchdown. Conner fumbled the snap on the two-point conversion try, which failed.
"He's a fighter," Miller said of Conner. "He said 'I'm ready' so I put him back in. He came back and did a good job. He didn't have a great game, but he played good enough for us to win."
After the Indians were backed up to their own 3, Itawamba's Miller ripped off a 17-yard run before losing the handle on the ball.
The Tigers again went 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions on the ensuing drive as Sanders — as the quarterback — had carries of 3 and 5 yards on those plays. The second went for the game-tying touchdown. He connected with Earnest Harmon on the two-point conversion. The score remained 14-14 through halftime.
The two teams traded punts to open the second half. Noxubee took over at their own 12-yard line and the Tigers took their first lead of the game two plays later.
After a pass interference call set Nox High up at its own 27, Conner found Sanders in stride along the left sideline. After hauling in the pass at midfield, Sanders cut back inside and won the foot race with McGaughy. Patterson's kick was wide left.
The Tigers forced another Itawamba punt, which never got more than a foot off the ground. Sanders fell on it at the Noxubee 46. The punt covered 8 yards.
A nice grab by Sanders gave the Tigers a first-and-goal at the end of the third quarter. After slipping on his route, the receiver was laying on his stomach when he pulled in Conner's pass.
Patterson scored his second TD of the game when he caught a ball going down in the back corner of the end zone. The Mississippi/Alabama All-Star made the grab in double-coverage.
Less than a minute later, Noxubee was on the board again when Miller was sacked in the end zone by Ladarius Mitchell.
Conner ended the night completing half of his 22 pass attempts for 175 yards. Sanders had five catches for 127 yards, while Patterson caught five for 40.
Itawamba's McGaughy ran for 163 yards in the losing effort.
Noxubee County will travel to New Hope — a team the Tigers beat 44-7 earlier this year — for the North State semifinals next Friday.
