By By Marty Stamper / staff writer
September 29, 2004
DECATUR While few can deny the football rivalry isn't what it once was, East Central and East Mississippi will tangle for the 62nd time Thursday in Decatur. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Warrior Stadium.
Once a major game on each other's schedule, the teams have tangled just 11 times over the last 22 years. The MACJC makes out the schedules for all of its members and with East Mississippi and East Central being in opposite divisions, they are part of a rotating plan that sees teams play just three of the seven schools from the opposite division each year.
East Central has won four of the last five meetings and holds a 31-26-4 all-time advantage.
"I've talked to our team about the rivalry and tried to give them a little history lesson about that," ECCC head coach Terry Underwood said. "There are still some kids at both schools that have played against each other all through high school.
"You can't really call it as big a rivalry as it once was, but I still think it has a lot of meaning for both schools involved."
"Several people have told me it was a big rivalry and when I was here 12 years ago it was a big game for us," EMCC head coach Roger Carr said. "As close as our schools are and with us both needing a win, it ought to be a good ballgame.
"I'm hoping we'll continue to play well and just cut down on the mistakes. We're not a real deep team in talent and we've tried to shore up some of our special teams this week."
For this year's teams, the game is the final non-division matchup for 2004.
"In a nine-game season, we're at the halfway point," Underwood said. "We've got five games left, the most important one being East Mississippi.
"It's a huge game for both teams because of the proximity of the teams involved.
"We're excited about being at home for two weeks in a row. We've been on the road three of the four games."
The Warriors took a 60-14 beating at Pearl River last week to drop to 2-2. East Mississippi fell 35-26 to Mississippi Delta to dip to 0-4.
"I guess the motto for both teams this week is to have a short memory," Underwood said. "There's nothing we can do about last week, but there is something we can do about this week."
EMCC has struggled offensively. The Lions are ranked last in the state, averaging just 190.8 yards per game. The Lions allow 365.8 yards. EMCC has averaged 12.8 points while allowing 39.
The Lions are also the worst team in the state in turnover margin at minus-5.
"That definitely hurts you," Underwood said. "We know because we had five last week and the week before we had zero and Southwest had five. If you can stay ahead in that part of the game, that's huge.
"They're spreading the field well and doing a good job of throwing it around and getting it to their skill people and letting things happen. They've gotten better and better.
"They've got some unique plays that they use to get the ball around the field. There's some innovativeness there.
"It's going to be a huge challenge."
ECCC is averaging 13.3 points while giving up 21.8. The Warriors average 271.8 total yards while allowing 269.3.
"They've got a good ballclub," Carr said. "If you take away the Pearl River game, they've only given up 27 points in three ballgames. They've got a good defense that runs to the football well.
"They're a very physical team. They're very much a smash mouth football team. They do it well, so we've got to get our pads down and play hard to have a chance."
Terrance McFadden has 297 yards on 79 carries to pace the Warriors' ground game. Robbie Morse has completed 36-of-71 passes for 429 yards. Derrick Harris has 16 catches for 171 yards and Chris Lark has 13 catches for 160 yards.
Jarris Williams leads the Lions on the ground with 259 yards on 70 carries. Rod Stevens is 43-of-84 for 291 yards and three touchdowns. Bernard George has nine catches for 211 yards and two touchdowns.
"We've got to develop a ground game and we've got to stop their run or it's going to be a long night," Carr said.
Brandon Parnell leads EMCC's defense in tackles with 23. NeAndre Hoskins has 18.
"They're competing harder than they did at the beginning of the year," Underwood said of the Lions. "They've played Hinds, which is undefeated, and Pearl River and we found out about them last week. Delta is considered one of the top teams in the North.
"We know we'll have a very tough contest."
Leading the ECCC defense are Sed Eichelberger with 26 tackles and Paul Tolbert with 24.