Warriors end season by pounding Coahoma

The Newton Record

DECATUR October 31, 2007 11:47 am

— Six weeks of frustration came to an end for the East Central Community College Warriors who concluded 2007 competition by rolling over Coahoma Community College 32-21 Thursday night on a soggy field at Bailey Stadium.
East Central, which snapped a six-game losing streak to finish 3-6, effectively utilized its powerful and highly ranked running game to defeat the Tigers, who dropped to 2-7 under Freeman Horton, a former ECCC assistant and Lake native.
For Terry Underwood, who completes his 10th year at the Warrior helm, the non-division victory provides a positive note on a season that had opportunities to be successful.
“I’m especially proud for our sophomores,” Underwood said in the post-game interview. “They’ve battled all year and we’ve come up on the short end of a lot of really close games. I’m happy for our sophomores to go out this way and I’m happy for our freshmen to have a good taste in their mouth going into the offseason. It’s always good to win.”
Freshman running back Maurice Langston, a product of Northeast Lauderdale High School, was the workhorse for the Warrior offense, compiling 104 yards on 11 carries and scoring three touchdowns. Lamario Hopson, a sophomore running back from Meridian, also had a productive evening with 97 yards on 20 carries and one score. Quarterback Deon Williams, who hails from Tuscaloosa County (Ala.) High School, kept the Coahoma defense off balance with an effective passing attack, completing six of nine passes for 104 yards and one score. He also rushed five times for 54 yards. In all, EC compiled 277 yards rushing and 106 yards passing for a 383 total.
The Warriors were without the services of running back Roosevelt Ross- one of the state’s top rushers - who missed the final two games due to a knee injury. Ross, a product of Ocala-Forest (Fla.) High School, finished with 695 yards on 98 carries, a 7.1-yard per carry. He averaged 99.3 yards per contest and had eight touchdowns.
East Central wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard, as Hopson found pay dirt on a two-yard plunge with 11:01 left in the first quarter. Beau Hannah of Morton kicked the PAT.
The 79-yard drive took nine plays and was highlighted by Williams’ 36-yard run to the Coahoma 43 and his 21-yard pass to tight end Spencer Spane of Terry that gave EC possession on the Tiger 20.
Coahoma responded to the Warrior tally with quarterback Marvin Pittman of Clarksdale connecting on a 15-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Leroy Banks of Memphis with 7:30 remaining in the initial period. Jared Corder of Memphis booted the first of his three PATs to tie the contest at 7-7.
The short scoring drive covered just 38 yards in seven plays and was set up on Johnathan Brown’s 41-yard kickoff return. Brown is a Cleveland native.
East Central resumed its lead on the ensuing possession, with Williams firing a 26-yard touchdown strike to Langston with 6:03 left in the first period. Hannah was unsuccessful on the PAT attempt.
It took just four plays for the Warriors to find the end zone on their 45-yard scoring drive, set up by a 33-yard kickoff return by Tremayne Bowie of Forest.
East Central extended its lead to 19-7 a short time later on a 54-yard fumble return by defensive lineman Josh Lewis of Tuscaloosa County. The two-point conversion attempt was not successful.
The Warriors scored on their first possession in the second period with Langston crossing the goal line from one-yard out, capping an impressive 91-yard drive that took just nine plays. The two-point conversion again was not successful.
Key plays during the long drive included Williams’ 24-yard scramble to the EC 31 and Langston’s 46-yard scamper to the Coahoma one-yard line.
Coahoma narrowed the Warriors’ 25-7 advantage on its next possession as running back Marlin Meeks of Charleston tallied on a three-yard dash. Meeks would finish the night with 76 yards on 22 carries.
The short Tiger scoring drive was set up when Xavier Jones of Memphis returned Hannah’s kickoff 49 yards to the EC 31-yard line.
EC, which held a 25-14 advantage at halftime, put its final points on the scoreboard late in the third quarter on Langston’s five-yard run, capping a 10-play, 49-yard drive set up on an interception by Warrior free safety Ray Frierson, a product of Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa.
The Tigers scored the game’s final points on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Encalade of New Orleans to wide receiver Michael Mouton of Pensacola with 13 seconds remaining in the contest.
East Central had 13 first downs and Coahoma posted 15.
Backup quarterback Jacob Massey of Union completed his only pass attempt for two yards and had 11 yards rushing on five carries. Other rushers not previously mentioned included fullback Courtney Shelton of Tuscaloosa Academy, two rushes for 10 yards; and fullback Marcus Travis of Perry Central, one yard on one carry.
Additional receptions were made by Spane, two catches for 30 yards; Katlan French of Starkville Academy, one for 30 yards; Freddie Parham, a product of St. Clair County HS in Margaret, Ala., one for 21 yards; and Michael Townsend of Forest, one reception for minus three yards.