1977-1982

B l o c k e d Punt

Foils ECJC, 10-7 By ANDY CLAY Star Sports Writer DECATUR - After Saturday night, East Central Junior Col- lege coach A.J. Kilpatrick may not call for a punt the rest of the season. Kilpatrick's Warriors had a punt blocked and an attempted punt that never materialized under a heavy downpour in a 10-7 homecoming loss to South Division foe Pearl River here Saturday night. The blocked punt set up Loyd Henry's one-yard plunge late in the second period for the winning points. "We work on the kicking game more than anything else, and I don't have any reason to believe it shouldn't be up to par," said Kilpatrick. "1 thought our kids played real hard. We could've won it though. It was won on some of our mistakes and some good foot- ball by them. We were unable to move the ball and it's been a pro- blem we've had all year. I don't want to take anything away from Pearl River, though. They're a fine team." East Central opened the scoring early in the game. Facing third-and-seven from his own nine, quarterback Stacey Powell Fired over the middle and hit tight end David Gallaspy all alone at the PRJC 45, where he hauled the ball in and outran two defenders for the touchdown with 10: 10 left in the opening period. Luke Parks booted the extra point. The visiting Wildcats finally got on the scoreboard early in the second period. PRJC began a t its own 16 after a 50-yard punt by Jeff Breland. The Wildcats marched 69 yards before stalling. Tony Smith booted a 32-yard field goal with 11:09 showing on the clock. The big plays of the drive were a 22-yard scamper by Henry snd a 20-yard run by quarterback Bobby Devaughn that had a facemask penalty against the Warriors tacked on. With the rain continuing to fall, Powell fired three incomple- tions and Breland came on for the ill-fated punt attempt. Breland kept his head down and never saw Pearl River's Kevin Russell block the kick. Teammate Mike Gallo fell on the ball for the Wildcats a t the ECJC 33. Henry proved to be the workhorse of the drive, carrying for 13 yards on first down and getting nine more on fourth-and-three. His TD plunge came on fourth-and-goal with seven minutes left in the second period. But East Central didn't give up. The Warriors began a drive of their own. Tailback William Leach carried three straight times for five, three and four yards and a first down a t the ECJC 39. Fullback Bo Evans saved the drive three plays later when he fell on a Charlie Triplett fumble a t the Wildcat 45. The teams then traded turnovers. Wayne Suttle fell on a bad pitch fumble for the Warriors, but Kelvin Alford intercepted a Powell pass on the next play. * Twice in the third period, the Warriors dodged the Wildcats' bullets. The visitors drove down to the ECJC 16 yard line before tailback Scott Senner fumbled. Bernard Jordan recovered for the Warriors. Later in the period, PRJC tpok over a t the East Central 17when Breland fumbled the low snap and didn't get a punt off. Facing fourth-and-eight, Chuck Bounds dropped back and fired into the end zone for Henery Martin. The ball hit Martin in the hands, but he dropped it. With time running down, the Warriors began a drive from their own 10. Powell connected with wide receiver Percy Johnson for gains of 12and nine yards to move the ball out to the ECJC 35. However, a holding penalty pushed the Warriors back and the drive stalled. Finally, with 1:39 left in the game, ECJC had one last chance. On fourth-and-eight from his own 39, Powell hit Gallaspy for 14 yards and a first down a t the Pearl River 47. However, his fourth down desperation heave was pickpd off by cornerback Ben Robertson with 20 seconds on the clock. East Central, 2-4 overall and 0-3 in South Division ~ l a v , travel to Hinds Saturdav for another division name