The East Central Community College Warriors showed a great amount of grit Thursday night in Perkinston but ultimately fell to the No. 9 ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Bulldogs, 31-13, after MGCCC rattled off 17 fourth-quarter points. The score was not an accurate reflection of the game as a whole with 10 of the Bulldogs’ points coming in the final three
The Bulldogs were first on the board with a Phillip Short touchdown pass to Jalen Bracey from 12-yards out. R
Reigning NJCAA Defensive Player of the Week Desmond Williams ended the next drive with a pick and ran it 35-yards to the Bulldog 10-yard line. On a fourth and goal from the 1, Carlois Walker (Decatur) pounded his way into the endzone for the Warriors’ first score.
After turning the ball over downs, the Warriors added a 24-yard field goal from Van Winkle, giving ECCC a 10-7 advantage. That score would hold through the half.
On their first possession of the second half, Peyton Posey (Union) denied MGCCC a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
After a short Warriors punt, Short connected with Micah McGowan for a 35-yard MGCCC touchdown, making it 14-7 in favor of the Bulldogs.
Gulf Coast added another score early in the fourth quarter, pushing the lead to 21-10, but Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 51-yards. Van Winkle added a field goal making it 21-13 with 12:02 to play. Williams grabbed yet another interception, but ECCC didn’t capitalize.
The Bulldogs put up another field goal down the stretch, and added a 45-yard interception touchdown return with 3:14 on the clock, to grow the lead to 31-13.
East Central finished the night with 193 yards of offense on 59 plays, while Gulf Coast posted 359 yards on 84 plays. The Warriors held the Bulldogs to 0-of-3 fourth-down attempts and came out one ahead in turnovers.
Larry led the Warrior offense with 108 passing yards on 7-of-19 passing, while Larry Wilson (Hazlehurst) had 49 yards on 15 carries. Gulf Coast was led by a 183 yard game on 33 caries from Cam Thomas. Simms led ECCC’s receivers with 53 yards, while John Hilbert (Brookhaven) had a team-high three receptions.
Four Warriors posted double-digit tackles with Equandric Ross’ (Prentiss) 12 leading the team. Anthony Thomas (Stringer) added 11 and a team-best three tackles for loss, while Dareon Goodrum (Watkinsville, Ga.) also posted 11. Josten James (Flowood) finished with 10. Thomas, Ke’Sean Johnson (Quitman), Deiondre Fox (Philadelphia), and Rish Alford (Houston) all finished with one sack each.
The Warriors are back at home next Thursday, Oct. 14 as ECCC takes on Co-Lin for homecoming. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and for more information about homecoming festivities, visit www.eccc.edu.
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