Indians take bite out of Dawgs' high-powered offense, 40-14

Indians take bite out of Dawgs' high-powered offense, 40-14
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

GOODMAN – ICC hit the road for the first time this season to open MACJC North Division play against one of the nation's top offenses in the Holmes Community College Bulldogs on Thursday.

The Bulldogs (1-2, 0-1 MACJC North) entered the game with the nation's No. 9 offense, averaging nearly 500 yards a game – 311 via the ground.

The Indians (2-1, 1-0 MACJC North) visited Goodman with the nation's No. 25 defense, allowing just over 300 yards per game – 117.5 via the ground.

Something had to give in the MACJC North Division opener for both teams.

ICC set the tone early when Trev Miller (Noxapater) forced a fumble on the Bulldogs' opening drive that was scooped up and returned 31 yards to the 3-yard line by Cartin McBride (Calhoun City). Kadarius Forside (West Point) bullied his into the end zone after bulldozing a would-be tackler at the goal line to give the Indians a 7-0 lead.

Zach Ellis (Tupelo) connected on a 22-yard field goal before Forside powered his way into the end zone on a 5-yard run to give the Indians a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs answered on an 18-yard touchdown run with 3 minutes, 51 seconds left in the first half. The Indians answered with a 33-yard field goal from Ellis in the final seconds to take a 20-7 lead into the locker room.

The Indians struck quickly in the second half when Kwadra Griggs (Greenwood) found Isaiah Howard (Ripley) for a 14-yard scoring strike.

Holmes answered with a 6-yard run to cap off an 8-minute drive on the ensuing possession. Four plays later, Octavious Matthews (Stevenson, AL) sent the Bulldog faithful heading to the exits with a 52-yard jolt to the end zone to put the Indians up 33-14 by the end of the third quarter.

Griggs hit Dominic Walker (Orlando, FL) on a 8-yard strike to take a 40-14 lead early in fourth quarter and the Indians cruised to victory with every active player on the roster getting minutes in the contest.

Offensively, the Indians continue to spread the wealth with 15 players totaling 455 yards of offense.

Griggs completed 13-of-23 passing for 150 yards and 2 touchdown. Rip Kirk (Batesville) connected on all three pass attempts for 77 yards while Devin Bush (Jackson, TN) completed his only pass of the game to Ladarius Gallion (West Point) for an 11-yard gain on fourth down.

Dontavis Bruce (Olive Branch) led 10 different receivers with three catches for 67 yards with Howard adding 40 yards and a touchdown on 2 receptions.
 
The Indians had their best performance on the ground, rushing for 217 yards and three touchdown on 31 carries. Matthews finished the game with 91 yards and a touchdown on 9 carries while Forside totaled 55 yards on scored twice on 8 carries.

Defensively, the Indians held the Holmes' vaunted offense in check all night.

The Bulldogs only managed 203 yards of total offense – 145 yards rushing; 58 yards passing. ICC also forced three turnovers with Quinn Tiggs (Tupelo) grabbing his first interception of the season along with Myron Watkins (Lake Cormorant) and McBride each recovering a fumble.

Daniel Johnson (Coldwater) led the Indians with 9 tackles with Terrence Jones (Bruce) adding 7 tackles – 4 going for a loss of 9 yards, including a sack for a loss of one.

The Indians will return to Fulton for Military Appreciation Night on Thursday, September 17 against the nationally-ranked Rangers of Northwest Mississippi Community College (3-0, 1-0 MACJC North). Current and former members of the military and their families will receive free admission to the game and are invited to participate in a special halftime ceremony in their honor.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Eaton Field. The Davis Ford Pregame Show will start at 6:40 on WAFM (95.7 FM) and LetsGoICCTV.com.

For more information on ICC football, follow ICC Athletics on Twitter (@LetsGoICC).