2008

c1tcd to hear the good news. We nov. have a chance to make the playoffs and as you knov., in this league. anything is possible.We just need to continue to play hard and make things happen. We·, e been expecting good things to happen to us all year and nO\\ they arc." Following East Central's fir:.t score, the Warrior defense stopped a Ti– ger ~coring threat \\hen dcfensi-..e end Ccdnc Hall of Carthage 'ackcd 'orth– east quarterback Emanuel Frances for a four-yard loss on fourth and eight from· the .EC 32-yard hoc. The [· C ollcn..c responded by marching 64 yards in I0 plays. capped otT by Langston\ I0-yard touchdown run. Ke) plays during the drive included Taylor's 16-yard pass completion to Langston to the Northeast 49 and Taylor's IJ-yard scramble to the Tiger 10. Neshobu Central product Derek Crenshaw- who broke a toe on his kick– ing foot pnor to la!>t week's homecom– ing contest-added the PAT and was suc– cessful on all li\ c attempts. Northeast took the ensuing kickoffand marched from its O\\n 14 to the Ea"t Central 45, only to be denied further penetration thanks again to a sack of the I igcr quarterback. this time b) defcno;ive end Josh Le\' i~ ofTuscaloosa Count> (Ala.) lligh School. Lc\vis burst through the riger defense and tackled Franeco;. for a nine-yard loss on third and 1\\0, torcmg 'ortheast to punt. I h~· Warriors mounted an im– prcsstYe dri\e on the1r next possession. marching fmm the 25-yard-line to the Nonheast 13, only to have the scoring Lhn:at nixed when Tiger defender Jeremy Vaughn intercepted Taylor's pass 111 the end zone and returned th~: pigskin to the Northeast I 0-yard-hne. I he FC defense once again held the Tiger offense in-check and forced a punt almost resulting in another Warrior score but Langston's 35-yard dash to the end zone was nullified due to a blocking-in-the-b.td.: ~:all during the return. The Warriors did manage to score pninh on the pos ...ession. as Crenshaw drilled a 22-yard field goal wllh 9:35 remaining before halftime. Ea~t Central missed on another scoring opportunity on its nc\t po~scssion when Northeast tried 11 fake punt on fourth and I0 from lis ov.n25-yard line. Free safety Bruce Williams of Ridgeland stopped ·1iger punter Rico Kmg tbr a short gain and the Warriors were m excellent field position at the Northeast 27 yard-line. However, the dnvc stalled and Cren~ha\\ was unsuccessful on his 24-yard field g~al attempt The Warriors did score on their next possc~ston as Taylor and Lung~ton

connected on their 25-yard scoring pass pia) with 35 seconds left before halftime, Key plays dunng the eight-play. 50-yard dnve included a nine-yard pass from Taylor to wide receiver Lamar Truman ofNortheast Lauderdale to the Northeast 40. followed by a 21-yard pass pia) b)' the same duo to the Tiger 19 East Central carried a com– manding 24-0 lead into the dressinl! room at halftlJDc and wasted little time in padding its ad-.antagc early m the thtrd period, thanks to Tiger miscues. Northeast had taken posses· Ston on i!S 43 following the second-half kickoff, but fumbled on first down and Warrior linebacker Randy Carter recov– ered the loose pigskin at the Tiger 34. On EC's first play of the second half as was the case on the game's openin play- the Warriors found the end zone a Taylor and Alley connected on their 34 yard scoring pass play. Alley is a prod, uct of Union Grove High School i McDonough, Ga. The Warriors took ad\·antagc of another Tiger m1stake moments later and found pay dirt on thctr second play of the second half when Taylor and Al– ley hooked up on their 35-yard scoring pass play. The scoring opportunity v.as set up when Warrior defensive lineman Jeremy Dtllon. a product of Forrest County AHS. intercepted Frances· pass at the 35. Back-up quarterback Tyler Mc"leil ofNeshoba Central directed the Wamor offense for a ~enes during third– quarter action and picked up positive yardage before giving up possession. The Tigers were in position to score their first points followmg the ex– change of possession but Warrior comerbackZerrick llouston ofPhiladel– phia nipped those plans in the bud when he intercepted Jeremy Yate~ ·pass m the end zone with 5: 15 left m the third pe– riod. Northeast did reach the end .1:onc early in the fourth stanLa on Jer– emy Cannon's five-yard run. cappmg a nine-play. 55-yard drive. East Central had an opportu– nity for another:.core on the ensuing pos– session but Tiger defensive back Jimmy Young intercepted Taylor's pass on the one-yard-line wnh just over nine min– utes remaining to nix the threat. 1': ext up for the Warriors is a di\ision showdown with nationally ranked Mississippi GulfCoast Commu– nityCollege. Kick-ofT for the homecom– ing contest ts set for 3 p.m. on the Perkinston campus. The seventh-ranked Bulldogs dropped to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in division play after falling 37-31 in overtime to Copiah- Lincoln Community College Saturday mWesson,

Happy Warriors! East Central Community College first-year head coach Steve Cheatham and safety Jarvis Wilson (left) are all smiles following the Warriors' 38-7 thrash– ing of Northeast Mississippi Community College Thursday night in Booneville Also sharing the happy moment is defensive end Josh Lewis (right). fhe lop-s1ded decision was the first on-the-field victory for Cheatham and his squad, who had earlier been notified that Hinds had forfeited its 35- 21 victory over the Warriors due to an meligible player. East Central. now 2- .t overall and 1-2 in the 1\tACJC South Division, \\ill try for a third victory Saturday against nationally-ranked Mississippi GulfCoast Community Col– lege (2-l. 4-2). KickotT lbr the Bulldogs' homecoming contest •s set for 3 p.m. on the Perkinston campus. (Photo courtesy Northeast ~lississippi Com– munity College Public lnfomlation Office) ECCC Warriors Cruise Past Northeast for First Season Win; Also Benefit.from Hinds Forfeit The first play from scrimmage

the-field win as the Warrior head men– tor. East Central was notified earlter m the day that Hinds Community College had forfeited its 35-21 decision over the Warriors due to an ineligible player. thus putting EC's record at2-4 overall and 1- 2 in the MAJCJ South Division. Cheatham. ob\ iously elated at capturing lwo \'tctones on the same da). oncred praise for his offensive and de– fensive units for the "team victol)" over 'ortheast. "I \\as really proud of our players...they were so excited and de– served the win," Cheatham sa1d. "\\'e played pretty close to a complete game on both stdes ofthe ball and in the kick– ing game. It was really a team effort. We had a good week ofpractice and I thought we would play well." Cheatham said the Warriors re– ceived an unexpected boost when learn– ing about the Hinds forfeit earlier in the day. "Not many teams win two games in one day," Cheatham said with a smile, ":.o w.e.were obviously very ex-

set the tone for East Central Community College's 38-7 whipping of Northeast Mississippi Community College Thurs– day night in Booneville, as quarterback Emmanuel Taylor hooked up with Maurice Langston for an 85-yard touch– down strike the first of four TD passe~ thrown by the freshman l>ignal caller from Georgia and the first ofthree scores by Langston. a former standout at 1'\orth- ast Lauderdale High School in Mcrid- ian. Ta) lor. a product of Earl) County High School tn Blakely, Ga.. fired a 25-yard touchdown pass to Langston m the second period. and con– nected with \vide receiver Du'>hn Alh:y on 34- and 35-yard scoring pass plays early in third period action, whtch pro– vtded the Warriors with a 38-0 cushton and sent many ofthe Tiger fatthful home ~arly from the homecoming conte~t at Keenum Stadium. Taylor ended the night by completing 19 of 27 passes for 3X2 yards, his best performance as a Warrior. Langston 's other score came on a I(). yard run midway 111 the second period. East Central's easy victory \\O~