East Mississippi edges East Central on last-second field goal

Published 11:04 pm Thursday, September 27, 2018

DECATUR — East Mississippi Community College typically closes the end of practice sessions with special teams work, and the drill usually involves Lions kicker Josh Smith attempting late-game field goals in timely situations.

Smith’s and East Mississippi’s practice routine proved beneficial as the freshman kicker from Tupelo booted a last-second, 18-yard field goal Thursday evening to give the Lions a 24-21 victory over East Central Community College.

“Special teams is a big key for our team, and we want to be successful in that,” Smith said. “That’s what we always do, and what we pride ourselves in. Coach (Stephens) got me prepared, and everybody was just prepared. My snapper, Brett Burton, he’s been putting it on the money lately. And CJ Gholar, he’s been awesome, and my line has been insane.”

With No. 1 East Mississippi (5-0) holding a 21-15 lead midway through the fourth quarter, the No. 20-ranked Warriors received the ball at their 20-yard line. East Central (3-2) running back Marquavious Qualls ripped off runs of 2, 20, 10 and 1 yards to give the Warriors fourth-and-1 from the EMCC 31-yard line with just under four minutes left in the game. Warriors quarterback Mario Asagunla converted the fourth down with a two-yard run, and one play later, he floated a pass to tight end Torin Hamilton to tie the score at 21 after a missed extra-point attempt from Sam Cox. The Asagunla-to-Hamilton connection capped a nine-play, 80-yard drive.

The Lions received the football on the ensuing possession at their 44-yard line, and quarterback Messiah deWeaver and running back Deon McIntosh wasted little time moving the football downfield. deWeaver threw a 12-yard completion to wide receiver Kalem Reddix before East Central called a timeout with 1:03 left to play. McIntosh slipped past the Warriors defense for a 14-yard gain to give the Lions the football at East Central’s 5-yard line, and he added a four-yard rush to set up optimal field position for Smith’s FG attempt.

Smith’s go-ahead, 19-yarder sailed through the uprights leaving one second left on the clock, but East Central’s upset bid fell short when the football sailed out of bounds on the Warriors’ lateral attempt during the kickoff.

East Central’s Ray Thomas scored on a 3-yard run with 3:09 left in the first quarter.

McIntosh had a 15-yard touchdown run with 12:34 left in the second quarter to give the Lions a 7-6 lead, and also in the second quarter Gholar picked up a blocked East Central punt and returned in for the touchdown to push the Lions’ lead to 14-6 after the successful PAT by Smith.

Warriors’ kicker Sam Cox kicked a 25-yard field in the second quarter, and VJ Swanier returned a fumble 84 yards for a touchdown with under a minute left to play before halftime.

Keon Moore added an 11-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for the Lions.

“I thought the guys did a really great job, and we’re extremely happy to be 5-0,” East Mississippi coach Buddy Stephens said. “Like I told them, in every championship season, there comes that game. If you remember, Alabama had to beat Tennessee by blocking a field goal. There have been times where we’ve had games — we had a nail-biter against Holmes a few years ago. Great teams, and hopefully championship teams overcome things like this.”

McIntosh had a game-high 183 yards and one touchdown on 31 carries, and deWeaver ended 20 of 30 passing with 152 yards. Quarterback Vijay Miller exited the game with an injury in the first quarter.

James Smith III tallied 82 yards on 27 carries for East Central, and Qualls had 62 yards on 10 carries. Asagunla was 6 of 14 passing for 85 yards and two touchdowns.

“They’re a good football team,” East Central coach Ken Karcher said of East Mississippi. “They moved (the ball) down, and we left points off the board, as well, throughout the game. But this is the type of game we expected it to be. We have a good football team; they have a good football team… I’m proud of our kids.”

Up next: East Mississippi travels to Northwest Mississippi Community College on Thursday, while East Central hosts Copiah-Lincoln Community College Thursday for homecoming.