A third-straight win over Northeast Mississippi Community College was not to be for East Central Community College’s Warriors who were thumped 34-6 by the Tigers Thursday night before an overflow crowd at Bailey Stadium on the Decatur campus.
East Central, which trailed 28-6 at halftime, could not muster enough offense to mount a come-back in the season opener for both squads, unlike last season when the Warriors overcame a late two-touchdown deficit in posting a 34-28 homecoming win in overtime.
Brian Anderson, whose “interim” title as Warrior head football coach was removed following the 2009 campaign, was obviously disappointed in his team’s performance.
“They’ve (Northeast) got a few really good players, but the bottom line is we didn’t control us,” Anderson said in a post-game interview. “We didn’t handle us. We didn’t execute offensively. We had turnovers in our hands defensively and didn’t take them. We just didn’t play well at all.”
Anderson knows his young team – which includes only 16 returnees – will need to show vast improvement when the Warriors begin MACJC South Division competition Sept. 23 at Pearl River, after battling two more North Division opponents in home-standing Northwest on Sept. 9 and visiting Itawamba on Sept. 16. Northwest won its season opener 27-17 over Pearl River and Itawamba was outscored by Hinds 52-31.
“We’ve got a lot of young players,” Anderson continued. “We started over and I was very anxious to see how we would respond and we responded like a very young, immature football team. We went out there and didn’t make things happen. We waited on other people to do things. Everybody in this league has players. If you don’t play well, you’re going to have a hard time.”
Northeast’s offense moved at will in the early going against the Warriors in building a 14-0, first-quarter lead and a 22-point advantage at the break.
Quarterback Clint Wilson, a 5-10, 200-pound sophomore from Olive Branch,
led the Northeast offense by completing 16 of 28 passes for 277 yards and four scores in the first half. Wilson and Josh Jarboe, a 6-3, 200-pound sophomore wide receiver from Atlanta, Ga., connected on the first two scores, both coming on 12-yard pass plays following 47- and 69-yard drives, respectively.
The Warriors narrowed the scoring margin to 14-6 early in the second period on a 24-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Blake Matherne to wide receiver Walter Grayson, capping a 57-yard drive in seven plays. Jason Loris’ PAT attempt was not successful. Matherne is a 5-9, 180-pound product of Belle Chasse High School in Boothville, La., and Grayson, at 6-6, 205, hails from Tuscaloosa (Ala.) County High School. Loris is a 5-10, 160-pound product of Moss Point High School.
The Tigers responded with two more scoring pass plays – the first on a 10-yard strike from Wilson to wide receiver Johnathan Johnson of West Helena, Ark., with 10:30 left before halftime, and a 42-yard completion from Wilson to wide receiver Dante Barksdale of Southaven with 54 seconds remaining until the break.
After a scoreless third period, the Warriors threatened to score early in the final stanza but a fumble by Matherne was scooped up on the 16-yard line by Tiger defensive back Johnthan Bates of Tuscumbia, Ala., who returned the miscue 72 yards to the Warrior six. It took just one play for the Tigers to score, as running back Jamarcus Goodloe of Leighton, Ala., found the end zone with 11:04 remaining. Taylor Earhart missed his only PAT of the night following the game’s final score. Earhart is from Olive Branch.
EC drove into Tiger territory on the ensuing possession but a fumble by running back Rod Hawkins of Union nipped the drive on the Northeast 44. EC lost possession on three of four fumbles during the non-division matchup.
The Warriors threatened to score late in the contest, driving from their 19 to the Northeast six. But the drive ended when Matherne was sacked at the 19-yard-line on fourth and seven with 12 seconds left.
Matherne completed his debut as the Warrior signal caller by connecting on 12 of 19 passes for 106 yards and one score. Back-up Dustin Land also saw action and completed three of six attempts for minus six yards. Land is a 6-1, 210 signal caller from Milton (Fla.) High School.
Kasey Akins, a 5-5,170-pound wide receiver from Starkville, was the top receiver with two catches for 33 yards. Grayson had one catch – the 24-yard touchdown reception. Zach Pendleton, a 6-3, 185-pound wide receiver from Forest Hill, had three catches for 18 yards and Fabian Johnson, a 5-10, 180-pounder receiver from Coahoma County High School, had one reception for 18 yards.
The Warriors had 167 yards rushing and were led by Hawkins, who rushed 13 times for 70 yards.
Punter Emilio Warnsley of Morton had five boots for a 34.6-yard average. Caleb Porzell punted once for 34 yards and Loris had one attempt for 33 yards. Porzell is a running back from Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Silver Springs, Maryland.
Wilson finished the night by completing 18 of 35 passes for 271 yards and four scores. He had one interception, registered by Warrior linebacker Damarcus Lewis, a 6-1, 190-pound product of Quitman High School.
Wilson’s top receiver was Barksdale, who had four catches for 101 yards and one score. Jarboe finished with five grabs for 87 yards and two touchdowns.
The Tigers were limited to 70 yards on the ground and were led by Jaquise Cook of Ripley with 40 yards on nine carries.
Each team had 15 first downs
East Central hits the road this week to take on Northwest Thursday, Sept. 9. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on the Senatobia campus.
All Warrior football games can be heard on the College Web site (www.eccc.edu) or on KICKS 98 (98.3 FM), featuring veteran broadcasters Melvin Wooten and Gilbert Barham. Fans can also follow game action on www.twitter.com/Go_Warriors