Noxon takes hard knocks against Drummond
Nick Ianniello/Mineral Independent Noxon players Tyrell Wilkinson, left, and Bryant Eaton, right, chase St. Regis Tiger Willy Roper to a touchdown at their junior varsity game in St. Regis Monday night.
Friday was a difficult night for Noxon, who lost to Drummond 0-58 on their home field.
“We were definitely outsized,” head coach Greg Misner said, noting that the Red Devils started one senior to the Trojans’ five. “Three minutes into the game, they had already scored three times.”
Misner called his team “the youngest in the league,” which often leaves the Red Devils an uphill battle. The team is almost entirely sophomores and freshmen.
Though Drummond, the defending state champions in class C may have had the advantage in terms of experience, Misner said the Red Devils never lost their fire. Four times, Noxon stopped Drummond from scoring from inside the ten-yard line and held the Trojans scoreless in the final quarter.
“The team played well, they never did quit,” Misner said.
He especially complimented Adam Moore, who stepped in as quarterback and was Noxon’s offensive player of the week. Bryant Eaton also helped, giving Noxon 89 of its 152 yards of offense. Misner said the special team and offensive line also did well, helping keep Drummond off their players. At one point, Noxon had a great drive going only to be cut short by penalties. Rocky Fisher won defensive player of the week.
Misner believes that experience will only polish the Red Devils’ game.
“It’s going to come with age,” he said. “We’re building for the future.”
The loss dropped the Red Devils to 1-2 in league play.
Noxon also played their second JV game of the year against St. Regis Monday night. Noxon’s younger players are on both teams, giving them lots of chances to play. St. Regis, which has struggled in the past with numbers, only has a JV team, so Noxon’s young players were stacked again against seniors. This time, the Red Devils held the Tigers to a smaller margin of victory, ending the game only four points shy of St. Regis at 22-26.
Misner said he was disappointed by the loss but happy with the game.
“I was just really proud of both teams,” he said. “That was a really good St. Regis team and we played really well.”
Noxon won their first JV game against Troy 14-6 earlier this month.
The Red Devils celebrate homecoming this Friday with a game against Charlo. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. and the king and queen will be crowned during halftime.