Know Your Foe: Mississippi Delta

ICC travels to Delta with playoff hopes intact
Lee Adams/LetsGoICC.com
 
The Indians continue to fight for a playoff spot this Saturday when they take on Mississippi Delta in Moorhead.

Coach Sean Cannon told his players prior to their game with Coahoma that they were in a "3 game season" and to take care of business. The Indians (3-4, 3-2) did just that by defeating their last two North Division games in convincing fashion, outscoring them, 85-33. They have now reached the third final game of that "3 game season" with their playoff hopes still alive.

VIDEO: Coach Cannon talks with LetsGoICC.com in this week's practice report.

Defense

The Indian defense has held its last two opponents to under 20-points, while winning the turnover battle. The defense has forced 7 fumbles in the last two games with Antonio Clifton (Tupelo) and Calwaun Street (Enid) adding interceptions. Turnovers could play a role this week again as Delta has thrown 8 interceptions this season. This season the Indians have allowed an average of 127 rushing yards per game, but held Coahoma to only 27-yards two weeks ago. With Delta mixing up their ground attack with two running backs, this game could be a battle in the trenches.

Offense

In the last two weeks, the Indians have put up big numbers offensively averaging 463.5 yards per game. The Indians have been fairly balanced, but have found more success on the ground. Richard McQuarley (Meridian) has rushed for 344 total yards over the last two games and is currently third in the nation in rushing yards with 1,001. With McQuarley running the ball so well, the opposing defenses have made mistakes in pass coverage, that quarterback Kwandra Griggs (Greenwood) and the receiving core have been taking advantage of. Griggs connected with four different receivers last week and threw for two touchdowns including a 54-yarder to Grant Kimberlin (Olive Branch). With both the rushing and passing games complementing each other so well, the Indians hope to keep that balance this week against the Trojans.

The Foe

Delta has had an up and down season and have struggled to find consistency on offense. The Trojans (3-3, 1-2) are only averaging 237.8 yards per game this season, but have had some breakout performances in their ground attack. Earlier this season, running backs Quadre Butler and Roshard Burney combined for 314-yards and led the Trojans to a 41-19 victory over Coahoma. Despite the offensive struggles, the Trojans have had consistency on the defensive side of the ball. The defense has held its last four opponents to under 28 points including last week's 23-14 loss to Northwest. In last week's loss, the Trojan defense forced 3 fumbles, but the offense was unable to convert on any of the turnovers. The Trojans did benefit from their special teams last week as they returned a punt for a touchdown that gave them an early lead. Delta appears to have a lot of weapons and if they all click on Saturday it could make for another classic North Division game.

Saturday's game will be broadcast live from Moorhead on WAFM 95.7 FM (Amory) and LetsGoICC.com with the Davis Ford Pregame Show starting at 1:40 p.m. followed by the First American National Bank Opening Kickoff at 2 p.m.

For more information on ICC Football, follow the Indians on Twitter (@LetsGoICC).