1982-1986

I F Jawiors dodge a last-minute I bullet to beat Northwest 17-16 Callaway failed the conversion attempt.

East Central Junior College dodg- i a two-point conversion and a last :cond field goal attempt to upset isiting Northwest Junior College 7-16 Thursday night in the season pener for both squads. Northwest, the defending North bivision champions, had been picked 3 win the overall junior college title lis season. East Central, a member f the South Division, was picked to ~nish in fifth place with Hinds Junior :allege. East Central will travel t o 'erkinston Saturday, September 12 or a 7:30 p.m. contest with Gulf :east Junior College, which was redicted to win the South Division rown. Gulf Coast lost 12-0 t o omestanding East Mississippi Thurs- ~ay night. East Central had taken a 17-10lead tith , 10 minutes remaining when ophomore Verandel Irons connected In a 26-yard field goal. But Northwest soon began a scor- ng drive from its own territory. On I third and 19play just inside Warrior erritory, Ranger quarterback O'Neal Nebber fired a strike to receiver Nesley Carroll which gave Northwest I first down on the ECJC 17. On the lext play, running back Ricky Blake rurst up the middle for a 14-yard gain o the Warrior three. Blake then cored and put the Rangers within one )oint, 17-16, with 1:11 remaining. The Rangers ctecided to go for the wo-point conversion but pressure '-n linebacker Andre Griffin on thwest quarterback Bobby Byrd [1 and a diving deflectionof Byrd's

threatened as Northwest drove deep into East Central territory. The drive came to an end however as Griffin in- tercepted Byrd's aerial and returned the pigskin 42 yards to end the thud period. East Central took possessionjust in- side Ranger territory but quickly ad- vanced to the three-yard line on a 41-yard pass play from Basil to wide receiver Frankie Hodge. However, on the next play, the Warriors fumbled and Northwest took possession on its one-yard line. Turnabout was evidently ,fair play as the Rangers fumbled and Warrior tackle Alvin Mullins recovered the loose pigskin. His fumble recovery set up a 26-yard field goal by Irons which gave the Warriors a 17-10 lead with about 10 minutes remaining. Blake's three-yard run put the Rangers within one mint but as previously stated outstanding defen- sive plays by Griffin and Callaway helped preserve the Warrior win. Statistics East Central had 36 rushes for 109 yards and completed seven passes for 148yards for a total offensive perfor- mance of 257 yards. Northwest had 51 rushes for 203 yards and completed 13passes for 180 yards for a total offensive showof 383 yards. Running back Johnny Triplett led Warrior rushers with 60 yards on seven carries. Triplett also had two receptions for 40 yards. East Central had 15 first downs to 21 for Northwest.

As expected, the Rangers attempted an onsides kick which the visitors recovered near midfield. The Rangers moved the pigskin to the ECJC 31 and with three seconds left Bolen was un- successful on a 47-yard field goal attempt. Scoring Summary Northwest scored first on a six-yard pass from Byrd to running back Ronald Burnett with 5 5 2 left in the first quarter. Bolen added the PAT. East Central tied the score near the end of the first quarter when center Tim Sattinger recovered fullbackMar- vin Pearson's fumble in the endzone. Verandel Irons added the PAT and the scorewas tied 7-7 after the first period. The big play of the Warrior scoring drive was a 33-yard completion from Basil to Pearson on a fourth and 12 situation. Northwest took the lead in the se- cond quarter when Bolen connected on a 29-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining before halftime. Bolen had earlier tried a 40-yarder which was not successful but a roughing the kicker call gave him another attempt. East Central took a 14-0 lead on Pearson's 18-yard run with 7 5 0 left in the third period. Irons again added the PAT. The tally was set up by the Warrior defense which blocked a Bolen field goal attempt deep in ECJC territory. The loose &kin was recovered by tackle Mickby McMillan. The Warrior lead was quickly