Know Your Foe: No. 1 East Mississippi

ICC Host No. 1 East Mississippi Thursday Night
Lee Adams/LetsGoICC.com

ICC will be the underdog Thursday night as they host the defending NJCAA National Champion and undefeated No. 1 East Mississippi.

Being the underdog isn't new to the Indians (1-3, 1-1) when they face the Lions. In a series that dates back to 1950 and the two squaring off every years since 1958, the Indians have had success leading the series 31-27-3, but have been the underdog the last few years. Even though the Lions (4-0, 2-0) have been nationally ranked the past three seasons, ICC had success by defeating the Lions 24-23 the last time the two met in Fulton.

Defense

Thursday night's showdown will be a challenge for ICC, as they face a powerful Lion team that is averaging almost 62 points per game. The Indian defense has had success this season by forcing 9 total turnovers in the last two games, and having Devan Gilleylen (Shannon) earning MACJC Defensive Player of the Week honors in week 3.

Offense

ICC's has progressively improved on offense this season and scored a season high 24-points against Northwest Saturday. One key helping the offense improve is have access to two quarterbacks that complement each other in D'Andre Belton (Ridgeway, SC) and Kwadra Griggs (Greenwood). Freshman running back Richard McQuarley (Meridian) may be the biggest key to offensive success for the Indians and he is coming off a season high 165-yard performance on Saturday. The Indians rushed for a total of 270-yards last week with McQuarley and Belton combining for 257-yards.

Special Teams

In the last 2 weeks, ICC has benefitted from the special teams making big plays. Against Holmes, ICC's Xavier Pegues (Oxford) blocked a field goal in the closing minutes of the first half to hold on to the lead. The Indians would go on to win 19-3. Last Saturday, Cartin McBride (Calhoun City) blocked a punt for the Indians that Tre Bogan (Union) returned 26-yards for a touchdown.

The Foe

The Lions are currently on a 16-game win streak that includes their 52-32 win over Georgia Military to become the 2013 NJCAA National Champion. This season, the Lions have ran through the competition with their smallest margin of victory being 36-points when they defeated then ranked No. 3 Co-Lin 46-10. Their largest margin of victory came two weeks ago when they defeated Coahoma 83-7.

The game will be broadcast live from Eaton Field on WAFM 95.7 FM (Amory) and LetsGoICC.com with the Davis Ford Pregame Show starting at 6:45 p.m. followed by the First American National Bank Opening Kickoff at 7 p.m. 

For more information on ICC Football and the nine other intercollegiate atheltics programs, follow ICC Athletics on Twitter (@LetsGoICC).