East Central takes wet win over Copiah-Lincoln

By By Marty Stamper / staff writer
October 10, 2004
DECATUR On an otherwise dreary, drizzly afternoon, East Central and Copiah-Lincoln provided quite a few thrills before the Warriors posted a 31-20 MACJC South Division win.
ECCC improved to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the South half, while Co-Lin fell to 1-5 and 0-3.
"It was a great team win," ECCC head coach Terry Underwood said. "It wasn't the prettiest thing, but the bottom line is we found a way to get it done and we live for another week. Hopefully, we can build on it.
"Co-Lin has a good football team. They gave us all we wanted, but I'm proud of our guys for finding a way to win. We got stagnant in the second half, but all in all, we're just glad to get the win."
The 11-point final margin wasn't settled until ECCC's Kelvin Horne broke a 32-yard touchdown run with 23 seconds remaining. Darryl Mapp had given the Warriors a first-and-10 with a 7-yard gain on the previous play.
The Warriors looked to have a safe 24-14 lead after Tony Edison stopped a Co-Lin drive with an interception inside the ECCC 10. However, the Wolves forced a punt and needed just one play to close to within 24-20 when Victor Williams hit Daryl Johnson with a 65-yard scoring bomb down the middle. Edison blocked Chris Blackwell's PAT, leaving the Wolves down by four points with 2:17 left.
The Wolves took a 7-0 lead on the game's first possession, driving 62 yards in eight plays. Julius Roberson scored on a 10-yard run with 11:08 left in the first quarter.
ECCC answered with an 11-play, 70-yard drive on its first possession with Cameron Tawater hauling in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Robbie Morse with 6:16 left in the first quarter. Jay McMillin's extra point was no good as Co-Lin led 7-6.
The Warriors went up 9-7 on a 33-yard field goal by McMillin with 12:47 to go in the second quarter. Morse injured a knee on the 12-play drive that covered 65 yards and did not return.
Jarius Neal took over and had the best day of his brief career at ECCC. On the Warriors' next possession, Neal hit a diving Derrick Harris in the right corner of the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown. After the Wolves were penalized for having 12 men on the field, Mapp ran in a two-point conversion for a 17-7 lead with 6:18 left in the half.
"I thought Jarius did outstanding," Underwood said. "We've played him more at receiver than at quarterback the last two games, but he gets his reps at quarterback during the week. When Robbie went down, he stepped in and did an outstanding job and led our team to the points it got. I was real proud of him."
Co-Lin closed to within 17-14 just 73 seconds into the second half when Roberson scored on a 2-yard run. A fumble recovery by the Wolves at the ECCC 20 set up the short four-play drive.
ECCC answered the challenge with a quick score as Neal hit Harris over the middle at the 50 and the sophomore speedster pulled away and found nothing ahead but daylight for a 63-yard touchdown. McMillin's PAT gave the Warriors a 24-14 lead with 12:44 still to go in the third period.
The Wolves had their chances, but were unable to cash in. A block below the waist penalty on first-and-goal from the 10 resulted in a fourth-down pass coming up two yards shy of the end zone with 8:31 to go in the game.
A 17-yard punt return by Johnson put the Wolves at the ECCC 30 on their next possession. Co-Lin had first-and-goal at the 10 again only to have Edison pick off a Williams pass to kill the threat.
The Wolves closed the gap to 24-20 on their next possession on the 65-yard pass from Williams to Johnson, but Terrance McFadden recovered an onside kick for the Warriors and Horne's run capped the homecoming victory.
ECCC had an unusually good game in the air as Morse and Neal combined to go 13-of-18 for 282 yards. The Warriors rushed 50 times for 174 yards, giving them 456 total yards.
Harris caught five passes for 139 yards. McFadden had 110 yards on 27 rushes.
Co-Lin had 365 total yards with 137 coming on 31 rushes. Johnson caught six passes for 165 yards.