Indians do it again, beats No. 16 Northeast 28-18 in Booneville

For the second-straight season the ICC Indians have knocked a nationally ranked Northeast with their 28-18 win over the No. 16 Tigers and find themselves in the hunt for the final spot in the playoffs on Thursday.

"This was a big win for our program," second-year head coach Jon Williams said after his team's fourth-straight victory. "All week the players and coaches were focused on the task at hand and it showed on the field as everyone did their part in getting this win over the rivals."

The Tigers (6-2, 4-2 MACJC North) got on the board in the blink of an eye when Park Frazier found Tres Houston for a 56-yard touchdown pass on their first play of the game, but the Indians (4-4, 4-1 MACJC North) answered when Martrez Townes recovered a fumble in the end zone after a bad snap on punt in the second quarter.

Northeast took a 10-7 lead into the break on a 34-yard field goal by Taylor Earhart.

An interception returned 26 yards by Townes set up a Canden Dallas 1-yard touchdown run to give the Indians a 14-10 lead at the 7:45 mark of the third quarter. DeShawn McGaughy followed with a 3-yard scoring run to give the Indians a 21-10 lead heading into the final frame. 

After a one-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion by NECC made it a 21-18 contest in favor of the Indians, the Tigers looked poised for a late-game comeback when Ryan Thompson put the game on ice with an interception returned 46 yards to the one-yard line to set up the second plunge into the end zone on the night for Dallas to give the Indians a 28-18 win over their nationally-ranked rivals.

Sophomore running back Keon McGaughy earned JUCO Weekly Star of the Week honors rushing for 136 yards on 22 carries.

"The offensive line deserves all the credit," said McGaughy, who surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark for the third-straight week. "They did a great job being physical and opening up holes all night for us to be able to run the ball like we did."

The Indians combined for 187 yard rushing while sophomore quarterback Canden Dallas passing for 94 yards with Rashad Pargo leading the way with 29 yards on two receptions.

"Offensively, everyone knew what they had to do and executed the game plan," said Dallas. "The defense got us going and we were able to feed off their energy. It was a great job by everyone on the team." 

Defensively, the Indians forced four turnovers and limited the Tigers to 46 yards rushing on 31 carries and recorded eight sacks for a loss of 48 yards, 10 tackles for a loss of 56 yards, two interceptions returned for a total of 72 yards, and two fumble recoveries with one being recovered for a touchdown.

"I wanted to do everything I could to help the team win," said Townes. "Everybody stepped up tonight to get this win."

Last season the Indians defeated a then No. 11 ranked NECC 20-17 in Fulton.

The Indians will now turn their focus on the Northwest Rangers (4-3, 3-2 MACJC North) in the regular season finale on Thursday where a win for the Indians means a trip to the postseason.

"We're not worried about the playoffs right now," Williams said Thursday after the game. "We'll enjoy this win over our rivals, but as soon as we get back to Fulton we are going to focus on Northwest."

"Despite their three loses they are still the same Northwest football team everybody is use to seeing," Williams said. "Any team that can throw six interceptions and drop two touchdown passes in one game and still have a shot at winning is a dangerous team. We are going to have to be at our best when they come to town."

Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. at Eaton Field with the Davis Ford Pregame Show beginning at 6:40 on WAFM 95.7 FM or online at www.fm95radio.com.