Senatobia, Miss. – Itawamba Community College's energetic and hard fought comeback came up just short Thursday night, with the hosting Northwest Mississippi Community College Rangers escaping with a 16-14 victory on a blocked field goal as time expired.

The Indians (0-2, 0-2 MACCC North) found themselves trailing 16-0 after the opening quarter, but ICC's defense stepped up and showed out in the final three quarters, holding the Rangers to only 89 yards and allowing only five first downs.

While the defense was keeping the Rangers at bay, the Indian offense controlled possession, but were unable to put any points on the board until the fourth quarter.

At the start of the final quarter, the Indians, went to the ground with Jamarcus Quarles (Oxford) picking up a pair of big runs deep into Northwest territory to set up a 3-yard score from Tyler Day (Little Rock).

On their next drive, the Indians found the end zone again when Loden Bolen (New Albany) connected with Qua Davis (Biggersville) on a screen play that Davis took 59-yards for the touchdown.

After the Indian defense forced another quick and unsuccessful drive for the Rangers, the Indians took over with just over six minutes to play. The Indians drove into Ranger territory and with four seconds left on the clock, lined up for a potential game-winning field goal. However, the Indians would come up just short as Northwest was able to get a hand on the ball to block the kick and pick up the win.

Bolen was 19-30 passing for 149 yards and one touchdown, while picking up 43 yards on the ground in his  first collegiate start, and Quarles paced the rushing attack with 78 yards on 15 carries. Davis picked up 103 receiving yards and one touchdown on 10 receptions while seven total Indians had catches on the night.

The defense held Northwest to only 247 yards on total offense with Peyton Rea (Madison) leading the Tribe with nine tackles, followed by Breon Jordan (Philadelphia) and Corley Hooper (Ecru) with seven tackles that included three for a loss.

The Indians will be back in action Thursday, Oct. 29 when they host Mississippi Delta Community College for Homecoming. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 pm with the Davis Ford Pregame Show starting at 6:00 pm on LetsGoICCTV.com/red and Tupelo SuperTalk 101.9 FM.

EDITOR'S NOTE: since this story was written, the football schedule has changed and the Indians will now face Coahoma Saturday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. on LetsGoICCTV.com/red.

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