SCOOBA, Miss. – After a disappointing performance in a loss to East Central, the Indians bounced back with a 36-34 win at East Mississippi on a game-winning field goal by Eli Burciaga (Corinth) that drew flashbacks to the Indians' 2012 win over the Lions.
The Lions (1-3, 0-2 MACCC North) scored on a five-yard touchdown run to take a 34-33 lead with less than two minutes left to play. The Indians (3-1, 1-0 MACCC North) quickly drove the ball 60 yards on five plays to set up Burciaga for a 27-yard, game-winning field goal with 23 seconds left in the game.
East Mississippi looked primed to take add to their 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter, but Chuck Taylor (White Haven, FL) tipped a pass and returned the deflection 89 yards for a touchdown. Burciaga added the extra point to tie the game with 6:13 left in the first quarter.
The Lions answered with a 14-yard touchdown run to take a 14-7 lead in the opening moments of the second quarter. Tyran Mosley (Kosciusko) returned the ensuing kickoff 69 yards to help set up a 15-yard touchdown pass from Ty Davis (Fulton) to Chris Reed (Orlando, FL) less than 20 seconds after the Lions' score.
After a missed PAT, East Mississippi would take a 14-13 lead into the break.
Davis found Mosley for a 24-yard scoring toss and Reed with a 71-yard strike to give the Indians a 27-14 lead with 5:05 left. The Lions answered with a 4-yard touchdown run and 44-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead, 28-27, with 12:11 left in the fourth quarter.
East Mississippi fumbled a punt and the Indians quickly drove 43 yards on a three-play drive to take a 33-28 advantage on a 3-yard toss to Ethan Minor (Southaven) from Davis, his fourth touchdown pass of the night.
After a facemask on fourth down kept the drive alive, the Lions capped off a 61-yard, 13-play drive with a 5-yard rushing touchdown to grab the lead, 34-33, with 1:52 left to play.
Davis scrambled to find Mosley for a 46-yard completion to move the ball to the East Mississippi 17-yard line. Jaylen Foster (Greenwood) added a 3-yard rush and Zae Davis (Rienzi) hauled in a 4-yard reception to set Burciaga up for the game-winning field goal.
The Indians' win snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Lions that dated back to a very similar 24-23 win over East Mississippi in 2012 when Tyler Jackson (Oxford) nailed a 43-yard field goal in the final seconds of the game.
Offensively, Davis connected on 17 of 31 passing for four touchdowns and three interceptions. Mosley caught six passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. Reed added 116 yards and two scores on four receptions.
Defensively, Jaiyden Thompson (Okolona) had 18 tackles (11 solo; 7 assists) with one sack, two tackles for loss, a pass breakup and two quarterback hurries. Taylor and Zae Dilworth (Nettleton) each had an interception while EJ Stovall (Houston) added a fumble recovery.
Carson Langford (Saltillo) averaged 44.4 yards per punt with two going for touchbacks, two downed inside the 20-yard line, and no return yards by East Mississippi on five punts.
Up next: The Indians will host Mississippi Delta (1-2, 0-0 MACCC North) on All-American Heroes Night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the pregame show will start at 6:30 p.m. on SuperTalk 101.9 FM and LetsGoICCTV.com/red. The Trojans defeated Hinds, 23-7, for Homecoming last Thursday.
