2011

WEEK OF:Sr~m\-,c.r /'(, tof /

JUCO FOOTBALL \Y! arrior hope to continue succe against No. 15 \"XTildcats By Jamie Wachter jwa1 1 r@themendlanstar.com East Central Community College's dramatic fourth– quarter comeback last week provided more than just a much-needed win. It also pro– vided :.orne validation for the Warriors' coaching staff. As the Warriurs look to improve on ta~t year's 2-7 finish, the ECCC coaches felt ther not only upgraded the talent level. but abo the char– acter level of the Warriors. After an 0-2 start and trailing host Itawamba Community Col– lege 17-0, East C':' Central found ~~~c. itself in a tough ..,.. spot. But the

quarterback Mitch Manley's 1-yard sneak with 30 seconds left, also featured a trick play as Dennis Thames threw a touchdown off a halfback pass and two key defen– sive plays as former West Lauderdale star Darius Wren set up the go-ahead score with an intercep– tion and then Jonathan Scott intercepted a pass in the end zone to seal it. Manley has completed 31 of 73 passes for 477 yards and three touchdowns. Reggie Hall is his top target with nine catches for 130 yards and one score. Hall. a sophomore, is also the state's top kick returner. But to build off that late success won't be easy against the 2-1 Wild– cats. Pearl Rive··, which

"lias won..t.he past two meetings with East Cen– tral- 44-13 last year and 30-27 in overtime in 2009 -has won two straight following a 56-55 over· time loss to Northwest Mississippi in the season opener. The Wildcats are led by sophomore quarter– back Melvin German, U1e preseason MACJC Offen– sive Plaver of the Year accordiilg to Missis~ippi Gridiron magazine. German has PRCC atop the state in passing, aver– aging 395 yards per game. He has completed 101 of 141 pas~cs for 1,147 yards and nine touchdowns. "They've got the best football team that they've had in the four years l'vl' witnessed them,"

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corned from a confidence standpoint. For the first time since Anderson joined the ECCC staff– herassisted Steve Cheatham before taking over on an interim basis in 2009 and then getting the head job in 2010- that the Warriors enter MAC]C South Division play on a winning note. "It is a positive and it's made practice this week a lot easier," he said. "It's one thing to tell a team that they can be a good football team and another when you actually win and see that you can do it. It makes it easier." The comeback, which was capped by freshman

Warriors rattled off 21 points in the fourth quarter to win 24- 17. "To have such a young team as we've got, we feel like we have some good players with char-

PRCCat ECCC Ototur 6:30 pm. eailey Stadium

Anderson said. "They've got a great quarterback, but I feel like our DBs will match up well. Hope– fully, we will rise to the challenge. WOur DBs have been complaining the past , three weeks that they don't throw the football. We told them this week they will make up the dif– ference ECCC is fourth in total defense - 254 yards per game - in the state and are led by sophomore linebacker Chris Ficklin, an honorable mention All– American a year ago. He has 20 solo tackles, 11 assists and three sacks as th<' Warriors have allowed just 153.3 yards passmg per game and 100.7 rush;ng.

. acter - we increased that this yea," ECCC coach Brian Anderson said as his team pre– pares to host No. 15 Pearl River at 6:30 p.m. today at Bailey Sta– dium. "I think that ballgame just validated our thoughts through our recruiting process, summer camp and fall camp. "Just to see a team stick together - to struggle like we have at times, and at that same point, play well as we have at times. To come back and go 17 down on the road and still have the belief in your teammates that we could come back, I was so proud." But the win was also wei-

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