No. 12 Indians focused on Holmes Bulldogs
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

FULTON, MS – The 12th-ranked Itawamba Community College football team will be looking for its first 4-0 start to season since 1996 when they host the Holmes Community College Bulldogs on Thursday.

"It's going to be a battle," said ICC head football coach Jon Williams. "Holmes is much better than their record indicates and after their win last week they are going to come in with a lot of confidence and hungry for another win."

The Indians (3-0, 1-0 MACJC North) jumped eight spots after defeating Mississippi Delta Community College (0-3, 0-1 MACJC North) 39-9 behind 331 yards and three touchdowns from back-up QB Griff Loftis (Mooreville) and a much improved running attack spearheaded by Courtney Gladney (Olive Branch) and Tobias Lofton (Forest).

"I was proud of the way our guys responded," said Williams. "We didn't have our starting quarterback or running back and guys stepped in and stepped up for us all night. As coaches you like to see when players take advantage of their moment to shine in the spotlight."

Rashad Pargo (Aberdeen) had 121 yards and two touchdowns for the Indians, who rolled up 474 yards of total offense in the win.

Defensively, the Indians held Mississippi Delta to 218 yards of offense, led by CJ Jackson (Water Valley) while Randal Boyd (Forest) and Ted Esom (Bruce) had breakout performances in the win.

"I thought we had some guys make major steps in playing to their potential," said Williams. "It's up to us to build on the positives and the confidence to keep getting better because as coaches we are never satisfied and we want that attitude to be contagious amongst our players."

The Bulldogs (1-2, 1-0 MACJC North) notched their first win of the season with a 34-14 victory over Northeast Mississippi Community College (1-2, 0-1 MACJC North) behind a great performance from sophomore QB Dennis Robertson as the Gulfport native rushed for 61 yards on and carries while completing 18-of-28 passes for 159 yards.

"Robertson is dual threat guy," said Williams. "He can beat you with his arm or he can beat you with his feet. We are going to have to play the best defensive game we've played all season both physically and mentally."

Defensively, the Bulldogs forced the Tigers into eight turnovers while recording four sacks in the win.

"They are very physical and aggressive on defense," Williams said. "They held a good Jones County team to 10 points and only allowed Northeast to score 14 points last week. Coach (Chris) Woods has a great track record of good defensive teams throughout his career."

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Eaton Field on Thursday. The game can be heard starting with the Davis Ford Pregame Show at 6:40 on WAFM 95.7 FM (Amory) or online at www.fm95radio.com.