Trojans Tame Tigers in Season Finale, 30-15

Trojans Tame Tigers in 30-15 Win

By Mark H. Stowers

The Trojans had more than a Tiger by the tail on Thursday night. They caged the whole animal in a season-ending 30-15 win over Coahoma Community College on Sandy Wilson Field at Jim Randall Stadium. The win gave MDCC a 2-7 overall record and 1-5 in the MACCC. Coahoma falls to 0-9 on the season and 0-6 in MACCC.

After an opening kickoff return to the Tiger 39-yard line, Davion Alston fumbled on the first play from scrimmage giving the Tigers 1^st and 10 and their own 35. But the Trojan defense propelled the Tigers backwards on three straight plays losing four yards, gaining one yard and then a sack for a loss of seven. The ensuing snap for a Tiger punt sailed over the punter's head and into the end zone for a safety and the Trojans had a 2-0 lead at the 12:37 mark of the first period. On their next possession that began at their own 35-yard line, Alston redeemed his fumble with a 38-yard run to the Tiger 27. Two plays later, Troy Griffin hit Daniel Hall with a TD pass. The PAT gave the Trojans a 9-0 lead with 11:07 left in the first.

The Tigers' offense continued to stall thanks to the Trojans' stout defense. Their second offensive series resulted in a punt that gave the Trojans the ball at midfield. Eight plays later, the Trojans were back in the endzone courtesy of the Griffin to Hall connection with a 14-yard TD pass with 6:44 left in the first. The PAT made it 16-0 in favor of MDCC

The Trojans next drive started on their own 46-yard line after Darryon Taylor intercepted the Tigers. The offense took three plays and ended with Griffin taking it to paydirt himself on a 32-yard run with 3:14 left in the first. The PAT gave the Trojans a 23-0 lead.

Coahoma would find their way onto the scoreboard in the second quarter when quarterback Edwin Merriweather hit Taj Colom with a 27-yard TD pass. That cut the Trojan lead to 23-7. The Trojans would put up another touchdown in the third quarter on Griffin's one-play, seven-yard TD run. The PAT gave the Trojans a 30-7 lead. The Trojan defense set up the scoring play after forcing a Tiger fumble deep in their territory.

The Tigers eventually scored in the fourth quarter when Deshaun Catron caught a 96-yard pass from Merriweather, broke two tackles and scampered into the endzone. The two-point conversion run by Merriweather cut the lead to 30-15 with 11:55 left in the fourth. Neither team could find the endzone for the rest of the fourth quarter.

Head Coach Tavares Johnson Sr. was happy to send his sophomores out with a win on the night they were all honored.

"I'm happy that the guys came out and played," Coach Johnson said. "I challenged them this week. It's not about how good they are. It's how you started. It's how you finished. It doesn't matter, but this game is in front of you right now. Those are my words to them. And whenever you get a chance to play this game, you have to respect it. And they responded to the challenge, man. They came out playing. And I challenged the defense, you know, to get their first shot. Of course, they didn't have it. We had a Sophomore Night last night. We lost about 17 sophomores. And then we got a bunch of guys that it was the first game and it was the first year playing, but they're graduated students."

Coach Johnson and his staff have been on the recruiting trail all year and have had 51 recruits at Jim Randall Stadium and on Sandy Wilson Field watching the Coahoma game. season.

"We've been recruiting trying to put a fence around the Delta, keeping our kids home. And the coaches have done a great job with that. We've got home visits set up and we're out in the battle. We're trying to promote. I'm trying to set up a recruiting visit to Duval County, Florida where they have had 200 some odd athletes come out for Division I programs. We're going to get an AirBnB and spend a few days down there and try to land some of those fish," Coach Johnson said. "Then we're going to be out going to all the different state championship games in Florida, Alabama, and in Mississippi."

Coach Johnson is looking to shore up his secondary and more.

"We have to address our secondary needs in order to be successful. But I see now that we got the right formula, strategically and schematically to be successful in this league. We just got to put the right people to pull us together and put our players in position to make plays. But schematically, I'm very pleased. I mean, statistically, we've grown leaps and bounds in all areas. No one can lie with that, especially on defense. We've grown leaps and bounds. Look at our average. With the state, I think we rank in the top five but we've got to increase our depth. We've got to get some more speed. And I think we'll be fine."

The MACCC will begin playoff action this week. The NJCAA rankings include Northwest at #4 while Mississippi Gulf Coast sits at #5. They respectively sit atop the North and South Divisions with 8-1 overall records. Holmes comes in at #8 while East Central is at #12 and Itawamba received votes in the poll.

The playoffs will begin Saturday, November 9 with Northwest hosting Gulf Coast in Senatobia and Holmes will travel to Decatur to face East Central.