2002

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ECCC Warriors Among State's Statistical Leaders He only appeared in five 25.5 yards on 13 attempts.

state's top signal callers. Stephens, a sophomore from Troy, Ala., finished fourth in pass efficiency with a 117.9 rating. He completed 61 of 118 passes for 931 yards and six touchdowns. He was injured prior to halftime of the Northwest game East Central had the state's second -best rushing offense, aver– aging 194.8 yards per contest behind top-ranked Holmes, which averaged 220.4 yards. The Warriors were ranked fifth in total offense, averag– ing · 317. I yards per game. Northwest had the top offensive unit with a 349.1-yard average. Defensively, East Central's Travares Osley was recognized as the state's top tackler. Osley, a soph– omore linebacker from Hueytown, Ala., had 106 solo stops and 27 asststs. Stacey Lewis, a sophomore lmebacker form Neshoba Central, was also listed among the top defenders, as he placed fourth with 69 tackles and 28 ass ists. Sophomore cornerback Pete McBride of Forest tied for third in interceptions with six picks. He was also ranked among the top kickoff returnees, with an average return of

Williams, a sophomore from Daphne, Ala., gamed 528 yards on 90 carries - a I05.6-yard average per game- and scored five touchdowns. He was injured in the season-opening loss to Holmes but returned to the lineup to help EC defeat Jones County and Hinds. Williams had his best outing against Northwest, as the former Brookwood (Ala.) High School standout rushed 192 yards on 20 car– ries and scored four touchdowns in the Warriors' 34-33 overtime loss to the host Rangers on October 26. In recognition of his stellar perform– ance against Northwest, Williams \\as named the state's offensive pia) er of the \\ eek in :\1ACJC Reg10n 13 competition. He also firushed fourth in indmdual sconng, averagmg stx potnts for each nuich-up R} an rushed 102 nmes for 5-o }ards - an 81.4-yard average for the se' en contests - and scored six to ·~bdowns. He ranked third in indi\ tdual scoring with 6.9 points per contest. Warrior quarterback Kevin Stephens was also ranked among the

East Central firushed third in the South Divtsion standmgs wtth a 3-3 record. Although the Warriors were 3-6 overall, head coach Terry Underwood satd he was pleased with team's persistence to play hard each week. "Even though we did not accomplish the majorit) ofgoals v,:e set for the season, I was very proud of the team in the way they compet– ed especially considering the adver– sity we had with the number of mjuries sustamed by so many good players," Underwood satd.

games but East Central Community College running back Ramon Williams still managed to lead the state in rushing yardage per contest for the 2002 campaign. Freshman Titus Ryan of Tuscaloosa (Ala.) County, who was moved from wide receiver to running back after Williams was injured in the season– opener, finished second even though he appeared in only seven games at the running back position.

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