The Tylertown Chiefs have been one of Mississippi’s most explosive 3A football teams over the last two months.
The Chiefs, who lost 18 starters from last year’s team, are one of the most inexperienced teams still playing, but head coach Jason Johnson said his squad has not shied away from the bright lights of the postseason.
Johnson said his team’s youth to start the season had a silver-lining: heart. Johnson hopes Tylertown’s energy and love for the game will carry it to a victory over Collins in Friday’s 3A South State quarterfinals.
“I’ve been doing this for 20 years now. And after 13 weeks of football I’ve never seen a group of guys that’s still so pumped up about playing football,” Johnson said. “They’re excited. They truly love the game.”
The Chiefs have grown up together this season, rebounding from a 1-5 start to finish district play with a 5-0 record. Many of Tylertown’s impact players said that playing as a team has helped them to improve throughout the year and prepare for tough playoff games.
“We motivate each other,” fullback and linebacker Joe Dillon said of the Chiefs’ defense, which has allowed just six points in its last three games combined.
“We believe in our team, believe in everybody and believe that we can win on every snap,” said defensive end Joe Gesse.
The defense will need to continue its impressive run Friday against Collins’ West Coast offense, which relies mostly on short passes and different looks at the line of scrimmage.
Johnson said Collins will surprise complacent defenses with deep throws sprinkled into its game plan, and added that the secondary will need to stay prepared and focused on every snap.
Dillon deflected all the credit to Tylertown’s defensive line, which has controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the Chiefs’ late-season run.
“Everybody else has been playing around the defensive line because, really, ain’t nobody better at making tackles than our defensive line. They’ve been playing incredible football these last couple of games.”
Johnson added that when the Chiefs’ defensive front is making tackles, it doesn’t leave opposing offenses the opportunity to reach the second-level of the defense with a chance to break a big play. Although Collins will be bringing a pass-happy offense to Tylertown, the Chiefs stressed the importance of playing physical on defense and keeping everything in front of them.
Johnson hopes physicality also will carry over to the offensive side of the ball in Tylertown’s power-running offense.
Tailback Ja’Mori Mark has rushed for 1,200 yards and 18 touchdowns in just 11 games this season. Mark’s teammates praised the star tailback for his play, explaining how he makes everyone else’s jobs on offense that much easier.
“All we have to do is give him a crease and he’s gone,” offensive lineman Lamilton Andrews said. “We just need to get a push. We know that we don’t get a lot of glory, but we feel good, block good. The better we block the further we get.”
But Johnson also noted quarterback Ja’Moz Mark, Ja’Mori’s twin brother, has helped keep opposing defenses honest through play-action passes mixed into the Chiefs’ run-heavy offense. The head coach preached the importance of Tylertown sticking with what it does best: play physical, power football.
“We do what we do. The worst thing a team can do when they get in a big game is do something they don’t do,” Johnson said. “We’re going with power football. We won’t be making any changes.”
The Chiefs are a physical team, a hot team and now a confident team. The youth that plagued it at the beginning of the season has evolved into a new energy that Johnson hopes will lead Tylertown to a win Friday and a run at a state title.
“When you get to this point everybody has a good football team,” Johnson said. “When you play with confidence you know what you’re doing, you don’t second-guess yourself. You react to the ball quick.
“They can’t wait for Friday night to get here. These kids just truly enjoy playing football more than any group I’ve ever had.”
