Warriors aim to forget opener when reigning champs visit

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September 6, 2012

Warriors aim to forget opener when reigning champs visit

By Tony Tsoukalas / Sports Writer The Meridian Star The Meridian Star Thu Sep 06, 2012, 06:00 AM CDT

MERIDIAN —     Last week's 35-13 loss to Itawamba was not how East Central Community College coach Brian Anderson drew it up when starting the season. However, the good news for Warrior fans is Anderson and his team have a short memory.

East Central had no time to wallow after its season-opening loss, as the Warriors had to prepare for tonight's 6:30 matchup at Bailey Stadium against defending junior college national champion East Mississippi Community College.

    “You can't get too high and you can't get too low,” Anderson said. “You just have to focus one week at a time. Sometimes that is tough, but you have to focus on one team at a time. The most important thing is, after Week 1 you get a chance to asses yourself and see what you need to work on.”

    Defeating an EMCC team fresh off of its 35-15 win against Pearl River Community College will be no small task, as the Lions bring the No. 1 rated team in the country into town.

    “I'm impressed with what they have been able to do in four years,” Anderson said. “I think it is an awesome thing that they have done. This year, they have so much speed and athleticism. If you watch them, they are one of those elite football teams in this league.”

    Prior to East Central joining the South Division of the MACJC the two teams shared a heated rivalry, playing each other every year. However, tonight will be the first time since 2007 that the Warriors and Lions have lined up on the field against one another. Anderson said he expects a spirited crowd and a packed stadium as the two teams renew the rivalry.

    “I expect it to be great,” Anderson said. “The schools are an hour apart and our crowd is great, their crowd is great. I think it is going to be fun, and I'm glad we are getting to host it.”

    Any time you host the No.1 team in the country, the stakes are high. However, for Kemper County twins Steffon and Steven Fuller, the game against their former hometown team provides extra motivation.

    After spending their first year at EMCC the brothers have now enrolled at East Central and will look to take down their former school.

    “We went to almost every game when we were in high school,” Steven Fuller said. “When we got there, they gave us our first opportunity to play college ball even though things didn't work out there.

    “If we win, it will be real big. Just coming from there and knowing the coaching staff like I do. I don't want to say pay back, but it would be a really big win for us.”

    Coaches aren't the only ones the two brothers want to impress. Steffon Fuller said he has been trading some good-natured trash talk with his former teammates.

    “I've got friends and teammates there,” he said. “There is a lot of little trash talk going on. They try to ride it pretty good, and I try to get right back at them.”

    East Central will look for its seventh straight win over EMCC as the Warriors hold a 35-24-4 edge in the overall series between the two teams.

    “It's a once in a lifetime chance to get to play the No.1 team in the nation,” Steffon Fuller said. “Everybody's thought right now is to take down the big man.”

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