2012

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II) I Top ranked EMCC Lions cruise past ECCC Warriors

T11p ranked Cast Mississippi ommunny College may be on lis way to a second-straight \IJCAA football championship. The Lions rolled into Decatur l'hursday n1A;.hl ilOd came away v1th ''"easier-than-expected 51-7 vtttmy o\er East Central 'ommunil) C(lllege and snapped J o;jx-g:une skid to lhe Warriors in the process. Wich lhc \\ill, East Mississippi mpiUved to 2-0 on lhe young •ason whde EC dropped to 0-2. Bnan Anderwn. now in bis fuurth yenr leading the Warrior progmm. was disappointed ill his team's eflort and especially tummers that continue to plague ihe EC offense. A Wamor fumble - one of even for the night - following a rmssed E;~st MS field goal in sec– ond half action provided the visi– tors with an excellent scoring oppurtund~ at lhe 24-yard line .md led to a 21-0 advantage for the Uons. "We should have been 7-7 headmg into the half," Anderson said m a post-game interview. "S1mple thmg:. like snap

exchanges and handoffs we just didn'tdo.'' EC's defense provided an early wmover itself when defen– sive back Desmond Brown of Cherokee (Ala.) County High School intercepted quarterback Quez Johnson's pass in the end zone on the game's first posses– sion. However, a Warrior fumble three plays later on the EC 21 set up the Lions' first score- a two– yard run by Johnson with JI:00 left' in the first st.an.z.a. Johnson is a product of Starkville High School. Morgan Rhodes of Northwest Rankin connected on the first of his six PATs. After the Warriors were unable to move the pigslcin on the ensuing possession, East Mississippi took over on its 30 following Petal product Austin Franklin's 41-yard punt to the EMCC 30. Six plays later the Lions stretched !heir lead to 14-0 after wide receiver Corey Smith of Akron, Ohio, hauled in a 25- yard TO pass from Johnson with 6:52 remaining in the first quar– ter.

After an excbange of posses– sion, EC drove from its 33-yard line to the EMCC 38, but a hold– ing call followed by a turnover nixed the drive and the visitors took over near midfield. The drive stalled at the Warrior nine– yard line, from where Rhodes missed a 26-yard field goal with 6:30 left before halftime. EC took over on its 20-yard line but fumbled on the first play and provided the Lions with an excellent scoring opportunity. It took eight plays from that point for EMCC to fmd the end zone but did so when running back Rodriquez Moore of Bastrop, La., tallied on a one-yard plunge, extending the Lions' lead to 21-0. On lhe ensuing possession, the Warriors were once again a victim of the turnover as quarter– back Colton Kane's pass attempt was deflected and intercepted by EMCC defensive lineman Za 'Darius Smith ofGreenville on the EC 15-yard line. The Lions took advantage of the scoring opportunity as Rhodes drilled a 35-yard field

gonl wilh just under a minute left before hal.ft:ime. The half ended with the visitors in control at 24- 0. East Mississippi added two scores in lhe third quarter - Johnson's 16-yard scoring stri.lce to Smith with 7:01 left, followed by Moore's 41-yard TD jaunt with 5:54 remaining. EC got on the scoreboard ear– lier in fourth quarter action on running back Martin Johnson's one-yard run, set up by Dontreal Pruitt's 43-yard interception and return to the EM seven-yard line. Franklin added lhe PAT. The Lions scored twice in the game's fmal 10 minutes - thefust coming on Pruitt's 23-yard TD toss to wide receiver Deontae Jones of New Hope with 9:41 remaining, followed by running back Xavier Hogan's five-yard burst with just 34 seconds left in the non-division matchup. EMCC held a 23-11 edge in first downs. EC quarterback Colton Kane completed 11 of 33 passes for 72 yards and had one interception. Kane was the top rusher with

eight attempts for 42 yards. Kane is a product of Navarre (Fla.) High School. The Warriors managed 131 rushing yards. Other top rushers were Keshun Shipp of Olive Branch, 15 carries for 40 yards: Jamere Knox of Salisbury, Md., five attempts for 31 yards; and Johnson, 10 carries for 25 }Wds and a touchdown. Franklin punted SIX umes for a 34-yard average. EC lost three of seven fum– bles. EMCC had 339 passing yards and 221 yards rushing for a 660- yardtotal. Johnson completed 22 of 38 passes for 339 yards and three scores. He also threw two inter– ceptions. Pruitt connected on eight of 12 passes for 79 yards and one score and was intercept– ed once. Defensively, EC was led by Unebacker Blake Graves of Presbyterian Christian, who was credited with nine tackles. Other top tacklers were defensive !me– man Kalvin Smith of Newton County, four tackles and tv.o

quarterback sacks; defensave man 'Aartaze Jackson Demopolis (AJa.), four tac and quarterback sack; and • backer Cory Houck of U County (Fla.), four tackles. The Warriors begin MA South Diviston competition tiling on Copiah-Lin· Community College Thurs Sept. 13. Kickoff b set for 7 on Lhc Wesson campus. The Wolves are 1-1 on young season following theii 21 loss to :-.lo west Missis~ Community College Thur~ night m Wesson Co-Lin defe Northeast MissiSf Commuruty College 33-14 iJ season opener. The ECCC/Co-Lm game be heard live on The Gt– (98.3 FM) featunng vet broadcaster; Melvin Wooter Gilbert Barham.

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