The Magee Trojans season ended last Friday in a 34-36 loss to Noxubee County in an exciting South State match that kept fans on the edge of their seats all night.
It was Magee’s first loss of the season, and they finished the year with a 12-1 record. The Trojans put together a spectacular season led by Head Coach Chase Courtney. They proved that opposing teams lining up with anything short of Mr. Football playing the game of his life had no answer for what they brought to the field.
The Trojans captured the momentum early in the game, and everything was breaking their way. After being forced to fourth down deep in their own territory on the first drive, the Trojans elected to punt. When Kason May’s punt hit the back of a defender and landed in the hands of Braeden Gregory, he ran for a first down, and this was an indicator of what type of first half the Trojans would have. Quarterback Akavion Griffith led the Trojans down the field for a touchdown and early lead.
The defense set the tone early against star quarterback Kamario Taylor and the Noxubee Tigers. Taylor was under heavy duress from his first snap of the game. Their opening drive ended with a one-handed interception by Jeremiah Cole to get the ball back for the Trojans.
The Trojans capitalized on the opportunity and put together another scoring drive that led to a 16-0 lead, thanks to good decision making from Griffith and strong running from Ken Porter and Braeden Gregory. The defense continued to pester Taylor and made it difficult for Noxubee to gain any momentum until the second quarter.
Taylor was able to connect with his receiver on a deep pass and the Tigers moved the ball to the 1-yard line, but he mishandled the snap on what looked to be a quarterback sneak attempt. Tigg Harris scooped up the fumble for the Trojans and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown. The crowd erupted as the home team took a 22-0 lead. Noxubee finally scored just before halftime on a three-play drive to make the score 22-8 at the break. Taylor led the Tigers to another touchdown in the third quarter to make the score 22-16 at the end of the third quarter.
The teams began to trade touchdowns in the final 6 minutes of the game. After a catch and run by Christian Hubbard moved the ball to the 5-yard line, Akavion Griffith lined up under center and the Trojans ran a quarterback sneak. Looking like the Philadelphia Eagles’ Brotherly Shove play, they plowed ahead through the heart of the Tiger defense for a touchdown and a 28-16 lead.
The Trojan defense rose to the occasion and stopped the Tigers on the next possession. Facing third and long, Taylor escaped the pocket and attempted to scramble for a first down. This left him one on one with DeLarrius Hayes on the outside, and Hayes made a great tackle, stopping him short of the first down marker. Noxubee punted the ball short, and the Trojans took over on the 50-yard line with just over 7 minutes left in the game.
Griffith led the Trojan offense back onto the field. Ken Porter broke for a 40-yard gain, moving the Trojans into scoring position. Braeden Gregory capped the drive with a scamper for a 5-yard touchdown to put the Trojans ahead 34-16. This was their last touchdown of the season.
Noxubee captured the same air that the Trojans had in the first half for the final 6 minutes of the game. The Tigers needed to score fast and execute perfectly to pull off a comeback, and they did. Taylor connected with his receivers on deep passes, setting up a rushing touchdown and 2-point conversion for a score of 34-24 with over 4 minutes left to play. Noxubee recovered an onside kick and scored another touchdown with less than a minute being run off the clock. Taylor was able to connect with his receivers and work the boundaries as they made their way up field while preserving time on the clock.
Following the Tigers’ touchdown the Trojans held on to a slight 34-30 lead. Magee started their drive at midfield after Noxubee failed to cover the onside kick. The Trojans needed to string together some first downs and burn the clock. But the Tiger defense held and forced a three and out.
Noxubee took over with 2:12 left to play. The Trojan defense was locked in and made plays to force a fourth down. However, Taylor made a good throw to the flats where his receiver broke for a 60-yard gain to the Trojans’ 2 yard line.
The Trojan defense stepped up big again, with Braden Gregory tackling Taylor for a loss. Taylor threw an incomplete pass on second down and Zykerian Magee got his second sack of the game on third down. Taylor and the Tigers were facing 4th and goal from the 13-yard line when he dropped back to pass and hit his receiver over the middle of the field, and he fell backwards into the endzone to give Noxubee a 36-34 lead.
The Trojans took over with no timeouts and 35 seconds left to play. On a great effort on the last play, Jeremiah Cole ran sideline to sideline looking for an opening before being tackled as time expired.
The Trojans put together an outstanding season. Head Coach Chase Courtney said, “It was really tough. I hate that for our kids. They fought all night. They converted a 4th and 13 to win it. They played their hearts out all season and that’s all you can ask for. We made mistakes and it wasn’t perfect, but we played really hard. I’ll forever be grateful to those guys for my first full season as a head coach. I love those guys.”
The Trojans fought hard with some great performances. Akavion Griffith completed 14 of 20 passes for 159 yards, one touchdown and an interception while adding 19 yards and a touchdown on five carries. Ken Porter led the backfield with 21 carries for 109 yards while Braeden Gregory had five carries for 44 yards and two touchdowns.
Jeremiah Cole led the receivers with five catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Cole also finished with two interceptions.
DeLarrius Hayes led the defense with nine tackles. Zykerian Magee had two sacks, and Kyshawn Ducksworth had a sack.
Great season, Trojans!
