Indians fall in season opener to Coahoma, 37-23

FULTON, Miss. – The Indians saw special teams miscues and untimely turnovers open the door for the Coahoma Tigers to pick up a 37-23 win in Fulton on Thursday.

The Indians (0-1, 0-1 MACCC North) drew first blood when AV Smith (Pensacola, Fla.) capped off a 90-yard drove with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Qua Davis (Biggersville) on the opening possession of the game. ICC failed to convert the extra point attempt and led 6-0 with 11:36 left in the first quarter.

Davis had nine catches for 105 yards and a touchdown on the night.

The Tigers (1-0, 1-0 MACCC North) answered with a 4-yard touchdown run by Jakobi Jackson and connected on the kick to go up 7-6 lead as time expired in the first quarter before getting a 31-yard field goal from Noah Sisk to take a 10-6 into the locker room at halftime.

The Indians were able to regain the lead, 23-16, late in the third after a 28-yard field goal by Shane Lasher (Olive Branch) followed by a 33-yard touchdown pass to Octavious Williams (Horn Lake) with 42.7 seconds left to play in the quarter.

Williams hauled in three passes for 62 yards and a touchdown.

Coahoma answered to tie the game in the final seconds of the third on a 70-yard touchdown pass when the Tigers took advantage of busted coverage in the secondary after the Indians jumped offside on the play.

Takorian Porter (Athens, Ala.) picked off a Coahoma pass and returned it 20 yards to the 10-yard line but the Indians gave the ball back after the third miscue by the field goal unit causing the field goal to go wide right with 8:32 left to play in the game.

Porter finished the night with five solo tackles with an interception and two pass breakups while returning three punts for 108 yards for an average of 36 yards per return.

The Tigers converted the miscue into a 48-yard touchdown pass to take a 30-23 lead at the 6:40 mark of the fourth quarter before putting the game on ice after converting the Indians' fifth turnover into Jackson's third rushing touchdown on the night.

The Indians had 362 yards of total offense in the loss. Davis threw for 283 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions on 24-of-52 passing while rushing for 20 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts. Jamarcus Quarles (Oxford) rushed for 41 yards on 15 carries.

Corley Hooper (Ecru) led the Indians with 14 tackles (8 solo; 6 assists) with a tackle for loss. Peyton Rea (Madison) added 10 tackles (4 solo; 6 assists) with an interception returned 15 yards.

The Indians were scheduled to travel to Goodman on Thursday to take on Holmes Community College but the game was postponed due to the Bulldogs suspending all football activities after positive COVID-19 tests and individuals falling under the college's close contact protocol.

ICC's next game is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15, at Northwest in Senatobia.