2004

WEEK OF --".:...1 .:.....; , J+-'£..>4L.L-I ..:....f ...&.)..~...{ _____

"You have lo de)X'nd on out 1 the district "It's a huge challenge. Fvery win we get counts clouule for us. II we play a Hinds. and we were able lo bt>at them. it woul just be huge." East Central finds it a 1ittle easier to get out-of distnct players than East Missi::.sippi. "We've got one out-of·disll ict this year." Bennett said. ''We'r also ~mashed on the edge of the state, so v.. can only o north and south. We can't go to the cast b ·caul;e th t's Alabama. Ancl our school doesn't allow international players. "Our biggest cham·e i maybt· the Jackson area, h 1 they would have to go throu h East Central and thro4s:;h Meridian even to get to us. "It makes it rough. "We've got a lot of freshmen starting and they're going to get better. A lot of these guys were dcfcnder:i in high school so now they're having to lear how to play a different positioi "Our play in the field has improwd a lot from last year. ~ow w 've just gol to learn how to score and learn hov. to win.'

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hasn't played in the last five or six years. 11 11 He's in the same boat a~ we are, 11 Bennett "aid of the two schools' plight. "We have five countie.; and two of them don't have soccer at all in them. "I've got eight --choo).; that have it. but we've got Mis.;is s1ppi State right in the middle of those too. 11 l've got five pla} er!".' that didn't play in high school. And a lot of them probably only played a couple years in high ~chool." East Central is· 30-52-fi in Thompson's seven vear-. ,,;th tlw program. The high-water mark came in 2002 v. hen the Warriors finished 9·f>-3 overall and were 5-3-2 in the MACJC South Division. . Having connections dutsidl' their district is crucial to both coaches' success. "We couldn't compete without players from out~idt> the distrkl. I think last vear our three district schools had II .;eniors and thb vear it won't be that many." Thu~np on said.

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