SCOOBA — East Mississippi Community College’s defense didn’t budget against East Central Community College Thursday night.
The Warriors were held to four first downs for the entire game, two of which came in the first half, and the Lions dominated with a 32-7 win Thursday night at Sullivan-Windham Field.
ECCC had only two trips inside Lions territory. The first followed a sack and a Buddy Stephens unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, forcing EMCC to punt out of its own end zone. The Warriors took over at the EMCC 42 and could get no further.
Later, Anthony Thomas recovered a Lion fumble at the EMCC 41. That led to a three-play drive for a score. Gabriel Larry scrambled for 15 yards and then hit 5-7 running back Keyser Booth for a 26-yard touchdown. Jaren Van Winkle added the extra point for ECCC’s only score of the night.
EMCC, who played their first game in two years, had their own offensive issues with the ECCC defense. They managed 383 yards on 92 plays. The Lions had numerous drives bog down in the red zone, especially in the second half.
Most of the scoring opportunities came off turnovers or short fields. The first Lion score came after a pass interference penalty gave EMCC new life, and Damon Stewart scrambled 17 yards for the score, giving EMCC a 6-0 lead.
A Kendarius Smith fumble recovery set up Zias Perryman’s 2-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to make it 13-0.
On the next drive, EMCC stalled out in the red zone, but Peyton Rodgers added a 36-yard field goal, giving EMCC a 16-0 lead at the half.
The ECCC defense didn’t give in, as a sack by Ryan Whitfield as time expired prevented another EMCC score.
In the third quarter, both defenses flexed their muscles. It took a change of quarterbacks for EMCC to drive down the field, as Jamari Jones put the Lions in field goal range. Rodgers nailed a 34-yard field goal.
Then an interception by defensive lineman Trey Laing set up a short touchdown run for EMCC to put them up 25-0.
The Lions added some style points after the ECCC score on KJ Lawrence’s 2-yard run with 26 seconds to go.
