2002

Ramon Will iam,, lhl· Wat1101 s' top retu rn ing running back, was one of those who \\l.' tl t dm" ' \\ tth a knee inj ury in the opener. fi e returned Thursday hut wnsn't l'l'll:t:ti vt: .

East Central boots Jones in triple OT

By Mi k e Christensen mchristenscn@clarionledger.com

"The thll ll-' I'm most proud of is that the kids haven't thrown in the towel," Und~o:t wood said . "We haven't quit."

--.J- DECATUR - The last kick o f a long ni ght" ohhkd int o the damp sky and drifted wide left ofthe goalpost, Sl!ll inE ollu wild cdt:brati on at Warrior Field. 0 East Central, a team that couldn't seem to cuteh tr hrl!u k thi s season , found LL some redemption Thursday ni ght by shod 11 tg No. 2-rankt.:d Jones County 0 6-3 in triple overtime. ~ W Travares Os ley's 23-yard fi e ld goal lo s lur t thL: third OT gave East Central ~ a 6-3 lead.

l'hat was e vident l'hursday.

Sa turated lie ld conditions at Warrior Stadium led to a rash of turnovers, und a pl ethora of penalties made tllings that much s loppier.

The two top offens ive teams in the state couldn't score a touchdown between them.

Not that they didn't keep the East Central fans on the edge of their seats, anticipating one break that mi ght bring about the upset.

Moments later, Jones' Nic ho las Terracina, who l!ndured a tough night, missed from 39 ya rds.

Terracina hit the right post on a 20-yard fie ld goal try with just under 10 seconds left, sending the game into overtime.

Before the kick even plopped to the muddy ground in the end zone, East Central players were streaming onto the field, soon to be joined by the school band and dozens of fans.

Terracina had lined up for a 28-yard attempt at 4:22 of the final period, but a high snap foiled that try.

ECCC improved to 2-21- overall and 2-2 in the South Qivision with its second OT win of the year.

Jones dominated most of the game. The Bobcats' steely defense - led by Derrick Ducksworth, Kenny Covington and Robert Phillips - held ECCC to 118 yards. Jones moved the ball on offense (205 yards) but turned the ball over five times.

Jones slipped to 5-1 and 2-1.

Terracina, 4-for-8 on field goals coming in, missed three in the overtime periods and another just before the end of regulation.

I lours befo re the game, Underwood expressed his concerns.

"They'll be the best team we've played to this po int, by far," Underwood said. "They're very so lid in all areas. They're well -coached, and they're playing wi th an awful lot of confidence right now. You can tell thatjust from looking at the lilrn." Jones s la ttl!d with a couple o f close wins but had won their las t three by a tot ttl of R<> poin ts hcm,ling into the ECCC game. =i :J Cii53:Ui

Ilow ironic. East Central had been the snake-bit team tlus fa ll. The Warriors led Copiah-Lincoln last week by 10 points with 4 minutes to play but committed two costly turnovers and lost 34-31. "We had live starters hurt in our first game, and fou r of them are still out," coach Terry Underwood said. "That's caused us to do some shuffling o f players, play some guys we were n't counting on to play so early."