1999

East entra rises from ashes to 1

JUNIOR,COLLEGES .. -, . ,_. ~ in the division, meet inFulton. The Rangers, 4-1 and frel'lhly ranked 15th in the nation, have scored 168 points in their last three games since being shut out by Southwest in Week 2, when the Rangers were ranked No.1. "I thinkwe've gota good team, but I don't know if we should have been ranked that high so early," said Northwest coach Bobby Franklin. "We need towork hard evervweek. "We'll have our hands full with Itawamba.Weplayedatwo-overtime game the last time we went down there, andI don't expect anything lP.s~ than that kindofgameSaturday." Itawamba. also 4-1, has lo:5t only to East Central in Week 2. "They look to be back on track," Franklin said. "And they'll be lay– ing for us. They always are." A subplot to the game: North · west quarterback Will Hall is from Amory, in the Itawamba district, and requested a release to play at Northwest. The Indians' QB is Ed Porter, a former Jackson Prep standout who transferred fromfMi>;sissippi State. Quick hits

By Mike Chr l•t• n•en Clarion-Ledger Stefl Wnter

Call the East Central Warriors resilient. And call them No. 1 -for now, atleast-in theSouthDivision ofthe statejunior collegeleague. After losing toNorthwest 53-8 in their opener, the Warriors have reeled off four straight wins, including South victories over Copiah-Lincoln and Southwest. East Central visitsHinds, 4-1,1- 1, tonight in a key division game. "The kids did a good job of regroupingafterthatfi.rstgame."said ECCC coachTenyUnderwood. "We playedwell the secondgame, and the kids have improved eachweek. "And we must continue to do so. with the people we've got left to play. Co-Lin didn'tdo us any favors (upsetting Hinds 36-29last week). I'm sure Hinds is mad and ready to takeitouton us.". "They made plays and we didn't make enough of'em," Hinds coach GeneMurphysaid about the loss to Co-Lin. "Thatwas either a wake-up callfor us or reality.We'll flnd out a lot about our character (tonight)." Last week, East Central ran for 172 yards against a Southwest defense that had allowed minus-10 rushing yards its previous four games. Steve Henley scored twice and ran for 51 yards, boosting his season total to 474, fourth-best in the state. The Warriors' D held Southwest to 82 yards and pitched its second shutoutoftheseason. Underwood doesn't foresee his team shutting out Hinds -which is averaging 36.8 points a game - but he feels limiting the Eagles' big-play offense is the key to the Warriors' chances.

Hinds was the last of the state's unbeatens when it lost to Co-Lin. Jones County, the state's other nationally ranked team last week also lost. It might be time to top using the word "upset" in th1 league. "rve been around nine 10 years, and I think the league is more balanced than it's ever been," s;.ud ECCC's Underwood. "I credit good coaching and good recruiting and a lot of hard wf)rk. Pretty much an\- bodv beut • o~ hbhl t C"A~THAdJNIAFr --------------------- NESHOBA DEMOCRAT NEWTON RECORD ----- MERIDIAN STAR CLARION-LEDGER -----------------

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