FULTON, Miss. – Untimely penalties were too much for the Indians to overcome in a, 27-13, season-opening loss to No. 6 Jones College Thursday night.
Trailing 6-0, the Indians appeared to take the lead on an 8-yard rushing touchdown, but a holding penalty negated the score, and the drive ended with an interception on fourth down.
DJ Smith (Greenwood) took advantage of another Indian drive stalled due to penalties to score on a 17-yard scramble to give the Bobcats a 13-0 halftime lead.
ICC got back into the contest when Alex Dawkins (New Hope) grabbed the third interception of the night to set up Charleston French (Amory) for a 6-yard scoring run to make it a 13-7 game with 12:14 to go in the third quarter.
Smith scored his second rushing touchdown on a 7-yard run to give the Bobcats a 20-7 advantage with 12:22 left in the game. The Indians picked up a pair of big plays to move the ball toward midfield on the ensuing drive, but back-to-back penalties forced them into another punting situation from deep in their own territory.
The Bobcats cashed in on the good field position with a 9-yard touchdown run to take a 27-7 lead with 6:13 left in the game.
The Bobcats amassed 354 total yards, while the Indians compiled 243 yards of total offense.
Keegan Stover (Tiger, Ga.) threw for 159 yards (11 of 19 passing) with one touchdown and two interceptions. His lone passing touchdown was an 8-yard toss to James Scott (Tupelo) with 3:07 left in the contest.
French led the Indians' ground attack with 65 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
Smith threw for 193 yards on 14 of 22 passing with three interceptions while leading the Bobcats in rushing with 77 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
The difference on the night was Jones' kicker Bart Edmiston Jr. (Ocean Springs).
The son 1996 Florida Gator National Champion kicker, Bart Edmiston, connected on field goals of 31 and 26 yards to give the Bobcats a 6-0 advantage early in the second quarter. Edmiston helped the Bobcats control the field position throughout the contest by averaging 45.5 yards per punt while the Indians averaged 27.1 yards per kick.
The Indians will look to bounce back when they head to Gulf Coast on Thursday. The Bulldogs (0-0) hosted Northwest (0-0) to open the season, but a prolonged lightning delay eventually led to game being delayed to Saturday.
The First American National Bank opening kickoff for Thursday's game is schedule for 7 p.m. The Davis Ford Pregame Show starts at 6:30 p.m. on LetsGoICCTV.com/red.
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