FULTON, Miss. – Highlighted by three defensive touchdowns, No. 20 ICC ran roughshod over the Holmes Community College Bulldogs, 61-16, for its third-straight Homecoming victory on Saturday.
The Indians (6-3, 5-1 MACJC North) raced out to a 30-0 lead after a 2-yard run by Dan Ellington (Olive Branch) followed by a 92-yard fumble return Keshon Heard (Hamilton), and a 4-yard pass to Jamel Thomas (Caledonia) before the dust finally settled on the first quarter.
Ellington found Terry Williams (Southaven) on passes of 9 and 13 yards to take a 33-0 lead before the Bulldogs (6-3, 3-3 MACJC North) found the end zone on a 1-yard run by Jesse Wilson with 16 seconds left in the second quarter to make it a 36-8 game at the break.
Wilson scored on a 2-yard run on Holmes' opening drive of the second half to make it a 36-16 contest with 8:27 left in the third quarter.
The rest of the day belonged to the Indians.
ICC answered with a 31-yard halfback pass from Christian Saulsberry (Southaven) to a wide open Michael Reed (Newark, NJ) to answer the Bulldogs' score. Jarvis Hayes (Slocomb, AL) scooped up a fumble and rumbled 32 yards into the end zone before Ellington found Williams on a 23-yard pass for the duo's third touchdown of the day to give the Indians a 54-16 lead, invoking the running clock mercy rule with 1:32 left in the third quarter.
Tyrese Quinn (Calhoun City) capped off the Indians' dominating performance with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown.
The Indians totaled 375 yards of offense on 33 plays from scrimmage.
Ellington threw for 316 yards and 4 touchdowns on 19 of 25 passing to become the first player in the program's storied history to surpass the 3,000-yard passing mark during the regular season with 3,211 yards passing on the season. He also rushed for 3 yards and another touchdown on 5 carries.
Williams hauled in 10 passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns to become the first player in ICC history to reach the milestone of 1,000 yards receiving and finished the regular season with 1,095 yards. He is the Indians all-time career leader with 2,005 yards receiving.
Caleb Comer (Caledonia) was 7 of 8 on extra point attempts.
Defensively, the Indians had five players record double digit tackles and forced four turnovers on the afternoon. The Bulldogs had 491 yards of total offense on 83 plays.
Daylon Fox (Southaven) led the way with 13 tackles with 1 sack for a loss of six yards. Heard, Hayes, Devan Hollins (Southaven), A'Tarius Moore (Calhoun City) all finished with 10 tackles. Hayes added a sack for a loss of seven yards and an assist on a tackle for a loss of one yard to go along with his fumble returned for a touchdown.
The Indians earned a share of the North Division Championship, but will miss out on the playoffs due to the league's tiebreaker system. No. 3 Northwest Mississippi Community College (7-1, 5-1 MACJC North) and No. 5 East Mississippi Community College (8-1, 5-1 MACJC North) will represent the North Division in the playoffs.
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