FULTON - Early mistakes caused Itawamba Community College to drop a 31-17 decision to No. 9 East Mississippi Community College Thursday on Sophomore Night at Eaton Field.

The Indians' defensive unit performed well, forcing a turnover on downs four times and intercepting twice, but the offense couldn't generate much success on the scoreboard.

ICC's first points of the contest came halfway through the second quarter when linebacker Jayden Walker (Aberdeen) sacked the EMCC quarterback in the endzone for the safety. Walker also had a team-best 14 tackles while cornerback Dylan Rowsey (Biggersville) and linebacker Jaiyden Thompson (Shannon) had 13 and 12 respectively.

The Indians' first offensive score was late in the third quarter when quarterback Tylan Carter (Ackerman) found receiver AJ Smith (Turner County, Ga.) for a 20-yard gain, which set up a 3-yard touchdown by Carter on a keeper.

The next touchdown came from a 52-yard pass from Carter to Jermaine Strong (Aberdeen) with 15 seconds left in the game to make the game's final score, 31-17.

Carter finished the game 10-for-26 with 120 yards through the air and one touchdown. On the ground, running back Charleston French (Amory) picked up 73 yards on 21 carries and accounted for a two-point conversion after Carter's 3-yard score.

The Indians fell to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in conference play. ICC will wrap up the 2023 season Thursday night with Coahoma in Clarksdale. The Davis Ford Pregame Show will start at 6 p.m. on LetsGoICCTV.com/red. SuperTalk 101.9 FM will join the broadcast with the First American National Bank opening kickoff at 6:30 p.m.

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