1995

4

Waniors break winless drought

on a one-~ final )tl!JU ed the mart

found thee burst earl) \\'eem)' PAT _ to 21-14. The 43-}ard

score. The tally came on a 12-yard end around by freshman 'hide receiver Calvin Williams of Car– thage on a fourth and two situation mid\\ a} through the stanza. Weem~· PAT deadlocked the con– test, and the Warriors never trailed from thi~ point. Ke> plays during the drive includ– ed a roughing-the-punter (Lee Wylie of Louisville) call against the Bears and a 27-yard reception from KiLLt ah to Williams to the Southwe t 20. After an exchange of punt!>, East Central n:gained the lead when May

specialist Derrie Vernon returned the opening kickoff 70 yards to the EC 25. However, the Warrior defense stiffened anp East Central took over on downs without allow– ing Southwest to gain a yard. . Just like the Bears, the Warriors had trouble moving the pigskin in the early going, but on their third possession the Kizziah-led offense began to click, resulting in a 15-yard touchdown toss from the freshman signal caller to freshman running back Freddie May of Tuscaloosa. Sophomore placekicker Peyton Weems booted the PAT, giving EC a 7-0 lead with 2:27 left in the in– itial period. Key plays during the 73-yard drive included a 21-yard pass from Kizziah to freshman tight end Ray Ivy of Louisville, which moved the pigskin to the Southwest 40, and May's successful run on fourth and two which .gave EC possession on the Bears' 17-yard-line. SouthweSt would later answer the Warrior score early in the second quarter o n quarterback AI Head's 39-yard scamper to paydirt. P lacekicker Jonathan Parker miss– ed the PAT, allowing the Warriors to cling to a 7-6 advantage. After an exchange of punts, Southwest took the first-half lead when Head lofted a 29-yard strike to tight end Coby Walker with just 16 seconds remaining before inter– mission. Running back Stacy Mack crossed the goal line to give the Bears a 14-7 lead.

Plagued throughout most of the ~on by costly turnovers, an in– .7onsistent offense and a defense that simply wore out in second half action, the East Central Communi– ~~ College Warriors found a way to eliminate those former maladies to earn their first victory of the '95 campaign, a 24-14 decision over Southwest Thursday night in Decatur. Following the win, EC improv– ed 1-8 overall and 1-5 in South Divi– sion play, while Southwest dropped to 3-6 and 1-5. The secret to their new-found success? " Just staying focused, working hard and never giving up," said first-year head coach Willie Coats who Claimed his initial victory as the \\ arrior boss. This time it was East Central which converted turnovers into pomts (10); it was East Central- led throughout by quarterback Jake Ktzziah of Northport, Ala. - which "found" itself offensively, even to the point of successfully converting three fourth down situations, and it was East Central which also "found" it~elf defen~ively, making quarterback sack~ and shutting out an opponent in the !>econd half for the first time this season. The Warrior defense can be credited with setting the tone for the division battle, although prior to kickoff it appeared mother nature may dictate playing conditions as rain fell before the 6:30 p.m. contest. But the rains stopped j ust in time for Southwest to give a scare to the \\ arrior faithful when return

a South\\est recO\ ered b~ \tarcu.., Ward During the d fullback :'\1art_ Stoj;..on. Tuscaloosa gam:d a fi: t d fourth and one from the Bears and freshm..n ~ _ rung ba::'" • Bradford of 5-. Central yards w me '-u "~• one. up the e._, ... ~ e

Unlike previous matchups, this time the third and fourth quarters belonged to the Warriors, who began second-half action b> mar– ct~' 6 7 -yards !or the game-t}inc win over Sout west

uth\\e t had 1 ) flfSl d ... 2~6 total }ard:.. Hea::! ~ pleted ,j,. or 17 passes for 15 )-ards and one touchdown. He ,.,as t - Bear~' leading rusher ''itb I 3 )"M on 14 carries and one score E4 Central will close out 95 ac– uon • hosting East Miss15~pp Thursda} night. Kickoff is se• for 6:: p.m. in Warrior Stadium. T :e li ns brtng a 5-4 record into thtc 1\i,ton matchup. The game 1' ECce, ''Be Our Guest' area 'l gh school students tet. .. ee of charge to

~. Central put the came "on i:e" "1th just O\er six rrtinutes re– m:llning \\hen \\'eems· ronna-ted on a }~yard field goal. The tn.; opportunit} ''as et up ""hen freshman deiender :-.tarcu \\an:! o Tuscaloosa intercepted a South"-es pass and returned the pig km to w Bears' 33-yard line. Statistically, EC had t.:l fi downs and amassed 279 total ,'3.fds_ Kizziah completed si>. of 1- Pa for 89 yards and one touchdown while ~1ay led EC ru her... \\1th - • yards on 24 carrie and t~o touchdowns.

APPEARED I. :

CARTHAGINIAN NESHOBA DEMOC"'RA-:-:· r=--– NEWTON RECORD CLARION - LEDGER______