2008

WEEK OF OJ ,/ -() g

ECCC falls in offensive battle to Cohoma From School Reports Special to The Democrat

call early in the third quarter deep in their territory was also a big mistake. We also failed to convert several scoring oppor– tunities, including the pass in– terception in the end zone early in the fourth period when we were down 34-23." "We did have some positive things to happen on offense and in the kicking game." he noted, "but we have got to eliminate our mistakes and even more important we've got to play with more enthusiasm and get our swagger back." Coahoma quarterback Mar– vin Pittman of Clarksdale found success through the air and on the ground against the Warrior defenc;e, a'\ be com– pleted 14 of 19 passes for 213 yards and two scores - a 20- yard strike to wide receiver LaDarius Dawson of Rosedale late in first-half action and a 40-yard strike to wide receiver Deangelo Ander~on of Mem– phis early in the final stanla. Pittman was also Coahoma's top rusher, with 15 carries for 106 yards. The other Tiger points came on three- and 11 -yard runs by Timothy Graham of Benoit, a 72-yard punt rerum by Marcus Allen of Clarksdale and a three-yard blast by Katral

Jame~ of Atmore, Ala. David Gallagher of Pensacola was uccessful on five PATs. Freshman Emmanuel Tay– lor had a successful debut a., the Warriors' signal caller. con– necting on 15 of 26 passes for 205 yards. He had one inter– ception. Taylor, a product of Early County High School in Blakely. Ga.. also had 78 yards rushing on I 0 carries and scored on a 19-yard nm late in the game. Sophomore running back and return specialist Maurice Langston of Meridian had 156 all-purpose yards and led EC rushers with 90 yards on six carries and two scores. Langston, a product of North– east Lauderdale High School, tallied on a five-yard run late in first-quarter action and added a 29-yard touchdown scamper with I :40 left before halftime. Other top EC rushers were Duke Hudnall, a sophomore running back from Newton County High School, who had 48 yards on I I carries, and freshman running back Derrick Cade ofTuscaloosa (Ala.) Cen– tral, 25 yards on five carries. In all, the Warriors had 244 yards rushing on 35 carries. East Central registered 20 first downs.

Sophomore kicker Derek Crenshaw of Neshoba Central High School was successful on one of two' field goals. He nailed a 40-yarder for the only points in the third period and barely missed a 42-yard at– tempt early in the second stan– la. He also connected on three PATs and had one kickoff sail through the end zone. East Central hosts Holmes Community College Thursda} in another non-division matchup. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Bailey Stadium. The Bulldog began season action b) dropping a 23-16 de– cision to Pearl River Commu– nity College Thursday night in Poplarville.

East Central Community College's new spread offense proved it could score points Thursday night, but the Warrior defense was unable to stop Coahoma's high-powered at– tack a'> the Tigers rolled to a 47-31 <>cason-opening victory at James E. Miller Field in Clarksdale. The Warriors. who took their only lead in the non-divi– '>ion contest at 7-6 following Kendrick May's 87-yard kick– off return in early first-quarter action. were simply out– gunned by the Tiger squad, \\ h1ch compiled 494 yards of total offense and had 2I first dtw.ns. "We were obviously disap– pomted in the loss," said first– year head coach Ste\e Cheatham. ''We were flat and played with no emo– tion and intensity, and that's not Warrior football.'' Cheatham said the Warriors also need to correct mistakes made on both sides of the ball. "We allowed too many big plays on defen e, especially the long punt return for a score and the two long touchdown pass– es. The roughing-the-punter

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