It was a Mardi Gras homecoming party for the Trojans but the Indians took all the beads and King cake. The Itawamba Community College Indians invaded Jim Randall Stadium, home of the Mississippi Delta Community College homecoming, and took a 55-21 win back to Fulton. The Indians (2-3, 2-1 MACCC North) put up 547 yards of total offense. The Indians had 275 yards passing and 272 rushing. MDCC (0-5, 0-3 MACCC North) had 247 total yards of offense.
This week’s matchup isn’t any easier. The Trojans hit the road to Senatobia to take on the #4 nationally ranked Northwest Community College Rangers who are 5-0 and 2-0 in the MACCC North.
“Going up against Northwest, it’s Northwest – one of the better teams in the country. But I can tell from the way we’ve been practicing that we’ve got the chance to showcase our abilities against one of the top teams in the nation. I think the guys are going to accept that challenge and go out and perform,” said MDCC Head Coach Tavares Johnson.
College football has been ripe with upsets throughout the season and Coach Johnson knows just how they happen.
“Any given Thursday, Friday or Saturday, it’s the team that goes out there and makes the least amount of mistakes who will be the winner. I’m just waiting for that team to be us. The game is never over. We need to keep playing, keep performing. That’s my job as the head coach and it’s a daunting task but I’m up for the challenge.”
In looking at the ICC game, the Trojans opened the game with a 9-play, 77-yard scoring drive capped by a 19-yard TD pass – Caleb Parten to Reeheem Fairley. Davon Klein hit the PAT for the early 7-0 lead. The Indians answered with a quick score to tie the game at 7-7. They followed that with a 26-yard field goal and then a 25-yard TD in the first quarter for a 17-7 lead. ICC picked up another TD in the second quarter to push their lead to 24-7 but the Trojans got back on the scoreboard when Fairley hauled in his second TD of the night from Parten. The PAT made it 24-14 with 12:50 left in the first half. The Indians would add two more touchdowns for the 38-14 halftime lead.
ICC picked up in the third where they left off with a TD run and a 45-14 lead. Jaylon Johnson then had a pick-six in his first game back, running it back 42 yards. The PAT made it 45-21 but the Trojans couldn’t get any closer as ICC added one more rushing touchdown and a field goal for the final 55-21 win.
The Indians are currently tied for second in the North Division with Holmes Community College. Those two teams will go at it in Fulton this week for the Indians’ homecoming.
Trojan Head Coach Tavares Johnson is keeping a positive attitude about his winless team. With several players coming back to the lineup, he knows they need more practice to help fill the holes on both sides of the football.
“We’re still turning the ball over. We’ve got to stop beating ourselves,” Coach Johnson said. “We’ve got to play alignment, assignment football. We go down and score and then two plays later we give up a simple, simple switch route flair. We jumped a flair for what? Then we had to play catch up the rest of the way.”
With starters back in the lineup, Coach Johnson is ready to get them in game shape and moving forward.
“We’re looking to right the ship and get the correct personnel in the game,” he said. “We were able to do some things with those guys that came back, things that put us in better position. Jaylon Johnson came in, first game back and pick six. Imagine if he’d been here the whole time. And we were almost able to crack 100 yards rushing. Got my right tackle back and we’re able to down block and kick out. We’re able to do a little bit more now. We want to shake the rust off of them. There’s no experience like live-game experience. We’re still trying to get the right combinations together.”
Coach Johnson noted, “We haven’t stopped coaching. We just have to stop beating ourselves.”
