Indians defeat Holmes in key division game

Fulton, Miss. – With a 35-28 victory over Holmes Community College Thursday night, Itawamba Community College moved into second place in the North Division and with the chance to control their own playoff destiny.

"Every win in this league is special," said ICC Head Coach Sean Cannon. "We played well in the kicking game and our guys had each other's backs all night. It was a total team win and I'm so proud of our effort."

Special teams was a strong point for the Indians (3-3, 3-1 MACCC North) in the homecoming win with two blocked punts by Jaurquez Ivy (Amory) and James Scott (Batesville), and Zae Davis (Biggersville) returning a punt 55-yards for a touchdown.

Davis also played a big role on offense catching six passes for a team-high 131 yards and two touchdowns, including a 65-yard score with four minutes left in the game that proved to be the difference in the final score.

The Indians had 370 yards of total offense and scored 28 unanswered points after trailing 10-0 early in the second quarter.

Quarterback Karson Green (Mobile, Ala.) led the offense by completing 24 passes for 325 yards and three touchdowns, and Shamar Sandgren (Savannah, Ga) hauled in six receptions for 102 yards and one big 75-yard touchdown.

Sophomore running back Eric Watts (Opelika, Ala.) rushed for one touchdown and ran for a team-high 57 yards on 15 carries.

Defensively, the Indians secondary got a lot of work as the Bulldogs (3-3, 2-2 MACCC North) threw the ball almost 90 times. Sophomore linebacker Brandon Fairley (Lake Cormorant) led the Indians with 15 tackles, followed by fellow linebacker Antonio Thompson (Clinton) with 11 tackles.

Linebacker Phil Oliver (Horn Lake) and defensive back Jermaine Ray (Olive Branch) added 10 tackles each.

The Indians will step out of division play next week when they host Hinds Community College on All-American Heroes Night in Fulton. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and will be available on LetsGoICCTV.com/red and Tupelo Supertalk 101.9 FM.

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