Indians win defensive battle with Holmes, 19-3


Indians win defensive battle with Holmes, 19-3
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com



FULTON, MS – Devan Gilleylen and the ICC defense helped lead the Indians to their first win of the season with a dominant performance against a highly-vaunted run attack of the Holmes Community College Bulldogs on Thursday. 


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"I was really proud of the effort the guys played with tonight," said ICC head coach Sean Cannon. "It was a short week of practice, but the guys worked hard and were focused on the task at hand when it came to being able to come away with the win tonight."



Gilleylen, a sophomore linebacker from Shannon, returned a fumble 17 yards as well as had two interceptions for a total of 38 yards in the Indians' 19-3 win over Holmes on Military Appreciate Night in Fulton.

"I'm really proud for Devan," said Cannon. "He played an outstanding game and came up with some really big plays to make things happen for us defensively, and the offense was able to take advantage of those opportunities."



Gilleylen's fumble return set up a six-yard touchdown run by D'Andre Belton (Fairfield, SC) to give the Indians a 7-3 lead in the second quarter. ICC took a 13-3 lead when Belton found Levarious Varnado (Calhoun City) for a 38-yard touchdown toss in the third quarter.



The Indians sealed their first victory of the season with a one-yard touchdown by Richard McQuarley (Meridian) set up by a 42-yard fumble return by Chance McNulty (Jackson).

"The line did a great job all night long," McQuarley said. "They took care of business opening holes for us to be able to move the ball." 



Defensively, the Indians held the Bulldogs (1-2, 0-1 MACJC North) to 198 yards of total offense led by Gilleylen and sophomore defensive end Xavier Pegues (Oxford). Gilleylen finished the night with nine tackles (5 solo; 4 assists) to go along with returning three turnovers. Pegues had eight solo tackles with five for a loss for a total of 13 yards while forcing two fumbles and blocking a kick. 



Offensively, the Indians had 229 yards led by freshman running back McQuarley who rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Belton went 3-for-9 with one interception for 38 yards while Kwadra Griggs (Greenwood) entered for a series to complete a pass of eight yards to DeAndre Wansley (Decatur).

"I thought the offensive line played an outstanding game," commented Cannon. "We've been able to run the ball in our first two games of the season, and tonight they completely dominated the line of scrimmage from start to finish."



Varnado had a big night for the for the Indians with 48 yards on two kickoff returns and an interception on the ensuing drive after his 38-yard touchdown reception. 



The Indians will travel to Northwest Mississippi Community College on Saturday (Sept. 20) to take on the Rangers at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WAFM 95.7 FM (Amory) and aired live on LetsGoICC.com starting at 1:40 p.m. with the Davis Ford Pregame Show. 



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