Indians defeat Coahoma to win second-straight on the season

The words of second-year ICC football coach Jon Williams summed up the Indians' victory over the Coahoma Community College Tigers perfectly.

"It wasn't pretty, but in this league you'll take a win anyway you can get it," said Williams.

The Indians had three turnovers and was flagged 12 times for 110 yards in their 30-27 MACJC North division win on Saturday.

"We knew we had a fight on our hands coming into the ballgame and the guys came ready to battle," said Williams. "There were plenty points in the game where they could have given up, but I felt like those moments made them dig a little deeper and fight a little harder for the win."

The Tigers (0-6, 0-4 MACJC North) put the only first-quarter points on the board with a 25-yard field goal to take a 3-0 before the Indians answered back with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone by Darren Daniel and a 9-yard scoring run by DeShawn McGaughy to give the Indians (2-4, 2-1 MACJC North) a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter.

Coahoma grabbed momentum going into the break on a 29-yard touchdown toss from Harold Clower to Marquette Dockery with under a minute left to play to make it 14-9 after Quad Freeman blocked the extra point attempt.

Daveonna Porter gave the Tigers a 15-14 lead early in the third quarter on a 22-yard touchdown run, but the Indians answered back in less than a minute when Canden Dallas found Wes Saxton for a 46-yard scoring pass to give the Indians a 21-15 lead and open up the second-half shootout.

The Tigers answered with an 84-yard TD toss from Clower to Porter to tie the game 21-21 after Cameron Wiggins blocked the second PAT of the game. 

Coahoma took a 27-21 lead on a 4-yard scoring run by Porter, but Wiggins broke the line to block a second PAT and this time scooped the ball up and scampered 79-yards to return the kick for a two-point conversion making it a 27-23 contest with 9:59 left in the contest.

After having a 61-yard touchdown called back due to penalty, Keon McGaughy raced into the end zone from 41 yards out to give the Indians a 30-27 lead with 3:27 left to play as Brandon Smith sealed the victory with an interception near the Tigers' goal line in the final seconds of the game.

"These guys know what it takes to win ballgames and today they proved to themselves they can do it with this win today," said Williams. "We've got to take the things we've from this win and apply it to next our next game."

Keon McGaughy finished with 160 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries while adding 34 yards on one reception. Dallas threw for 136 yards on 7-of-26 passing with one touchdown and three interceptions. Saxton had 54 yards receiving with one touchdown on two catches while Rashad Pargo hauled in three catches for 24 yards.

Defensively, the Indians recorded four sacks, 16 tackles for loss and 2 interceptions with Tim McAdoo leading the way with 12 tackles (10 solo, 2 assist) with four and a half tackles for a loss of 20 yards and two sacks. Wiggins blocked two extra point attempts, had a pass break up and an interception returned for 18 yards on the day.

"We were missing some key guys on both sides of the ball," said Williams, who was without seven starters coming into the game. "We had guys that have been hungry to play come in and make a difference for our football team and stepped up to help us get this win."

The Indians play host to Holmes Community College (2-4, 2-1) Thursday. 

"This is a big game for us and Holmes," said Williams. "We both are still in the hunt for the playoffs and a loss would really hurt our chances of making a push towards postseason play."

The Bulldogs defeated Mississippi Delta Community College 33-10 on Homecoming this past Saturday.

"They have a lot of speed and are really good on special teams," Williams said of Thursday night's opponent. "We as coaches are going to have to get the guys ready prepared both physically and mentally a very solid football team coming to town.

Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. from Eaton Field and the radio broadcast will begin at 6:40 on WAFM 95.7 FM or online at www.iccms.edu and www.fm95radio.com.