2006

EC-Scooba rivaiiJ goes way back By Robbie Robertson Tilt' ,\1'11 tml Rewrd

"Go to Hell EC" painted on their leather helmets along with a skull and crossbones. And through those years. there have been

Back in the day, some would say that the East Central and East Missis– sippi football game was probably the

some tremen– dous games and fights to go along with them. One that stirs memori e s among former plavers and coaches b the time in the early 19i0s when Scoo:- ba "attacked

second best rivalry in the state. right next to Mississippi State and Ole Miss. The game became a bitter rivalry when legendary EMCC coach Bull Sullivan

ECCC

Where: Decatur When: Thursday, 6:30p.m.

East Central's mascot, causing a full– scale fight

arr ived on the Scooba campus anddeclared East Central the Lions· rival. As a matter of fact. v. hen the two played EMCC had

As the story g~

scored or done something good when he went riding around, II former coach Ken Pouncey said. "He got a lit– tle too close and got pulled off the horse and it was a real donnybrook. I don't think he got hurt real bad but I do remember that the horse got cut." And the game also involved the students from both schools as well. At one time, Pouncey said East Central would get on top of one of the buildings and beat a war drum all week long before the game. "Holy smokes, it was bit– ter, it was war," former Warrior and Newton resi– dent Van Lucas recalled. "The year I played against them, they beat the tom-

South Division and keep EMCC in the Nouth. Now the schools don't play each other but every few years and the rivalry has died, some.' "Because they are so close and played every year, it was a very heated rivalry, II current Warrior head coach Terry Under– wood said. "When the kids came in on Sunday, we sat down and gave them a his– tory lesson about the drums and some of the things that used to go on. "You can see a little bit more excitement in their step this week and they have picked it up a little bit. It's game week and I think the players can see the light at the end of the tun– nel. After a long, rugged camp, the kids are excited about getting to play some– body." Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. at Warrior Stadium in Decatur as East Central plays on the surface for the first time in almost two years after playing all their home games at Newton County last year due to damage to the field from Hurricane Katrina.

rom all ''>eek long on top of the auditorium. And when I say all week, I mean all week. They beat that drum all day and all night. You couldn't hardly get any sleep for that drum beat– ing.'' Lucas recalls when EMCC played at Decatur when he was playing and getting ready to return the opening kickoff that Sulli– van had the Lions doing full contact drills just min– utes before the game. Pouncey said there was even a little spying going on in between schools. "Everybody has heard the stories of Sullivan shooting at planes," Pouncey said. "I remember one year, back where the ag building is on the south end of the football field, Coach Sullivan had a man in the chicken house and he scouted East Central all week long from that chick– en house. There was some pretty crazy stuff going on back then." ' But now, the game isn't nearly what it used to be after the state junior col– lege association decided to move East Central to the

Central had a Warrior mas– cot who used to r ide around the field on a horse, much like the Florida State mascot does today. On this night, the mascot was rid– ing around on his horse after a good East Central play and got too close to the Scooba sideline. Next thing he knew, he was pulled off the horse and a fight ensued. East Central fans came rushing to his defense and the fight was on. "We had a kid on a horse kind of like Florida State AI does now and we had

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