1996

WEEK OF ____ 9~-1:....:.<1_- q..ulR~---

Scooba, Senatobia sites for huge eek 3 battles

By Lee Baker Clerlon·Ledger Steff Writer

JUNIOR COLLEGES

The number ofunbeaten state ju– nior college football team.. dropped from 14 to three after two week of lhe season. That number will dwindle e\en further following tonight'.. highly anticipated interdivision game at Scooba between 2-0 Hind'- and 2-0 East Mississippi. The third unbeaten. East Cen– tral, faces an equallygreat challenge against host Northwest Mi i ~ip­ pi, the preseason pick to win tht: North Division. The Ranger.; 1-1, are coming offa 16-13 win last week at Pearl River after an opening 34- 20 loss at No.3 Hinds. "I know it'll be a tough gallle;· EC coach Willie Coats said. " orth– west might be pass oriented, but with its outstanding offensi\e line, they can run real well. too. They're just a solid team.·· East Central balances it~ offense, as evidenced by its 182 yards ru h– ing and 150 passing. But the War– riors lean most heavily on dt.>fen-e, holding opponents to only 32 yards rushing and 37 passing, by far the best on the Mississippi circuit. Pearl River has the next-be!>t de– fense, having allowed 374 yards. The big thrill on the Decatur cam– pus isnotonlythe Warriors' best :start since 1983, but also a string of four straight victories dating to last year when EC finished with win.- over Southwcht l\lisl>i!:!sippi 24-14 and EastMississippi 29-28. East Central's last victory over Northwest was 17-16 in 1987. The Warriors have lost four !

On the charts: East Missi ·sip– pi's James Johnson continues as the state's top scorer(36 points) and rusher (287 yards on 49 carries),just ahead of Gulf Coast's .Reginald Hunter with 271 yards on 30 rushes - a league-best 9 yards per carry. East Mississippi's Donald Green is the leading passer, completing 19 of32 attempts for 505 yards. Hinds' Kevin Prentiss bas 17 catches for 2f~ yards to lead all receivers. Other leaders include Copiah-Lin– coln's Ty Traxler with eight punt re: turns for 95 yards; East's Wilmon Hillman, 11· for-11 on extm points and 3-for-3 on field goals; Northeast's Alex McDonald punting with a 40.5 aver– age on 15 kicks; and Pearl River's John Hobson and Dean Porter with tv.u interceptions apiece. Also, Northwest's Deon Porter tops wckling with 19 and Hinds' Andrae Reed andNortheast's Raheem Ponti– let sacks with five each. Holmes Ter– rence Lott, ltawamba:'s Vinson Coo– per and Delta's Andrea Willard lead fumble recoveries ivith two each. Tidbits: Pearl River's homecom– ing Oct.. 5 against East Central brings the 1956 and 1976 Wildcat s ·ate champions back to Poplarville for a special reunion.Information on team members is being sought. .. Hinds topped Holmes 22-33 in their cross country run at Bulldog Trails in Goodman with the Eagles Jer– emy Vincent first in 29:50 for the 5 miles. Next for the 'Dogs is the USM Invita tional Frirlay at Hat– tiesburg.

APPEARED IN:

CARTHAGINIAN

SCOIT COUNTY TIMES UNION APPEAL

NESHOBA DEMO-C-RA_ T__ NEWTON RECORD

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WINSTON COUNTY JOURNAL MERIDIAN STAR

ClARION-LEDGER

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