Indians host No. 7 Co-Lin to open 2015 campaign

Indians host No. 7 Co-Lin to open 2015 campaign
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

FULTON, MS – ICC will be celebrating its 25th year playing under the lights of AC "Butch" Lambert Stadium when they open the 2015 football season Thursday night in Fulton.

In a twist of irony, the Indians host the same team they christened the stadium in 1990 – the Co-Lin Wolves.

The Wolves returned an interception the length of the field late in the game to spoil the stadium's opening, but the Indians would eventually get the last laugh by upsetting nationally-ranked Co-Lin 54-47 in five overtimes in the opening round of the playoffs before beating Hinds for the MACJC State Champions.

The defending MACJC South Division champions come to Fulton ranked No. 7 in the NJCAA and No. 1 in the JCGridiron.com preseason polls after finishing 8-3 and advancing to the MACJC State Championship in 2014.

Last season, the Wolves defeated the Indians 37-13 in Wesson.

ICC returns 26 sophomores from last season's team that finished 4-5 and tied for second in the North with a 4-2 record.

Offensively, ICC is led by sophomore quarterback Kwadra Griggs, who passed for 1,062 yards on 87-of-180 passing with nine touchdowns and six interceptions.

The Southern Miss commit will have plenty of experienced targets to throw to this season with the return of wide receivers Grant Kimberlin and D'Andre Belton and tight end Stanley Higgins along with the addition of University of Auburn transfer Dominic Walker.

Freshmen Devin Bush, Kadarius Forside, Octavious Matthews and Dontavis Bruce look to fill the shoes of 1000-yard rusher Richard McQuarley, who signed with the University of New Mexico after one season with the Indians, at the running back position.

Sophomore Tyler Floyd, Clifton Smith and Allen Byrd will anchor the Indians' offensive front while a bevy of new faces look to earn a starting role on the offensive line.

Defensively, ICC looks to have experienced returning talent complimented with promising incoming freshmen.

Ladarius Gallion, Naquez Pringle, Trev Miller and Quindarius Thagard return on the defensive line with the addition of Kenney Wooten, who was rated one of the Top Incoming Freshmen by the NJCAA.

The Indians' linebacker core will see four players returning in Colton Bramlett, Daniel Johnson, Eric Hunt and Calwaun Street, who finished third on the team with 46 tackles and first with 12.5 tackles for loss as a freshman.

Levarious Varnado, Antonio Clifton and Quinn Tiggs along with the addition of University of Central Arkansas transfer Artez Williams look to lockdown the secondary this season for the Indians. Tiggs paced the Indians with two inceptions and four pass breakups as a freshman.

Special teams will have a completely new look for the Indians.

Freshman Zach Ellis, who is also a member of the men's soccer team, will replace place kicker Tyler Jackson, who is part of the Ole Miss football team this season while fellow freshman Rip Kirk, who is also a back-up quarterback, will look to replace NJCAA All-American punter Jeb Millender.

For more information on ICC football, follow ICC Athletics on Twitter (@LetsGoICC).