Lackluster third quarter dooms No. 10 Indians at No. 5 Northwest, 27-13
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

SENATOBIA, MS – A lackluster effort in the third quarter doomed the No. 10 Indians in its division opener at No. 5 Northwest Mississippi Community College on Thursday.

The Indians (2-1, 0-1 MACJC North) held Northwest to two field goals in the first half to take a 7-6 halftime lead, but the Rangers (3-0, 1-0 MACJC North) answered with 21 unanswered points to pick up the 27-13 victory.

Northwest scored on a 16-yard run by Quarderman Sloan and a 27-yard pass from Clay Holgorsen to Alex Norwood in the third quarter. Holgorsen found KyKy Austin for a 12-yard scoring toss in the fourth quarter.

Peyton Bender (Fort Lauderdale, FL) hit Dorian Gaston (Ripley) for a 12-yard strike to cut the Rangers lead to 27-13 with 5:03 left in the game.

ICC took a 7-3 lead on a six-yard rushing touchdown by Dan Ellington (Olive Branch) and a successful extra point by Zach Ellis (Tupelo) at the 5:32 mark of the first quarter.

Offensively, the Indians totaled 504 yards (363 passing; 141 rushing) of total offense.

Bender finished the night with 200 yards with one touchdown on 19-of-31 passing. Ellington added 163 yards with an interception on 10-of-22 passing while rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

Terry Williams (Southaven) hauled in a career-high 13 catches for 189 yards. Gaston added four catches for 67 yards. Octavious Matthews (Stevenson, AL) rushed for 83 yards on 12 carries and had a 70-plus yard touchdown run called back on a questionable holding penalty.

Defensively, ICC allowed a season-high 389 yards (273 passing; 116 rushing) of total offense.

Kemon Hall (Calhoun City), Quinshay Heard (Hamilton), and Donald Twilley (Batesville) each led the Indians with six tackles on the night. Hall added a pass break-up and Heard had a tackle for a loss of three yards.

ICC will host nationally-ranked East Mississippi Community College for Military Appreciation Night on Thursday, September 22 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. at Eaton Field. Current and past members of the armed forces, along with their families, will receive free admission to the game when showing proper ID and are encouraged to participate in the special halftime festivities.

Last week, the No. 14 Lions (2-1, 1-0 MACJC North) picked up a 54-10 victory Northeast Mississippi Community College (2-1, 0-1 MACJC North) to open division play in Scooba.

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