Indians rolls over Holmes, rivals from Booneville up next

The ICC Indians picked up their third-straight victory with a 42-27 win over the Holmes Community College Bulldogs on Thursday.

Holmes (2-5, 2-2 MACJC North) jumped out to a 14-0 lead before sophomore running back Keon McGaughy put the Indians (3-4, 3-1 MACJC North) on the board with a 9-yard run before Canden Dallas tied the game with a 6-yard scoring toss to Erik Buchanan with 1:32 left in the first half.

The Bulldogs took a 17-14 lead into the locker room after a chip shot field goal before the first half came to an end.

Martrez Townes set the town in the second half when he picked off a pass and raced it 43-yard for a score on the Bulldog's first possession of the third quarter and the Indians never looked back as Keon McGaughy ripped off a 46-yard scoring run, Buchanan hauled in his second touchdown catch on a 6-yard reception and DeShawn McGaughy capped off the second-half scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run.

Will Goodwin was 6-for-6 on extra points and averaged 40 yards per punt on the night.

The Indians rushed for 306 yards and passed for 129 in their best offensive performance of the season.

"We are starting to come together at the right time," said Williams. "The defense has played well and now the offense is starting to click. Hopefully we can keep getting better on both sides of the football over the next two weeks of the season to make a strong push towards the playoffs.

Keon McGaughy broke the 100-yard rushing mark for the second week in a row with 184 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries while his cousin DeShawn eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time this season with 118 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries.

Dallas passed for 129 yards on 12-of-19 and two touchdowns to Buchanan, who had three catches for 26 yards while Rashad Pargo had 59 yards on 3 catches.

"I feel like Canden has really settled into the starting quarterback role," Williams said of the Pontotoc native. "Darren (Daniel) has really impressed me as a leader by the way he helps Canden on the sideline and then by his ability as a wide receiver both catching the ball and blocking down field."

Defensively the Indians continued to put up impressive numbers forcing four interceptions and recording 11 tackles for a loss of 44 yards. 

"Coach (Sean) Cannon and the rest of our defensive coaches have got our guys playing at a high level," said Williams. "It's was like they kept taking it to another level play after play (against Holmes) and hopefully they'll continue to play with that type of hunger from here on out."

LaBrandon Mosley had 11 tackles and two pass break-ups while Tim McAdoo recorded 6 tackles with 2.5 for a loss of 10 yards and a sack for a loss of six. Tevin Spurgon had two interceptions while Ryan Thompson and Martrez Townes each added another.

The win keeps the Indians in the chase for a spot in the playoffs as the second place team out of the North.

The Indians will now turn their focus up Highway 45 to Booneville as they get ready to take on nationally-ranked Northeast (6-1, 4-1 MACJC North) on Thursday with a playoff spot in the balance.

"Forget the records and all the implications around this game," Williams said about the Thursday night match up. "It's going to be a dog fight and we are going to Booneville for a win."

Kickoff is schedule for 7:00 p.m. and the game can be heard on WAFM 97.5 FM or online at www.fm95radio.com or www.iccms.edu starting at 6:40 p.m.