DECATUR — It came down to the very end.

With 3:53 left in the game, East Central Community College got the ball at its own 20-yard line and drove to the Pearl River Community College 28. Warriors kicker Jaren Van Winkle hit a 45-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining to lift the Warriors past Pearl 17-14 at Bailey Stadium on Thursday night in a Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference South Division matchup.

“Well, we obviously needed to get in field goal range or get a touchdown. The guys did an excellent job of executing to get into field goal range,” East Central head coach Ken Karcher said. “Special teams is one of our strengths, so we felt pretty good once we got inside Jaren’s range.”

With East Central up 14-7 early in the fourth quarter, Pearl River drove 55 yards on 10 plays and tied the game at 14 on a Will Young 1-yard touchdown run with 7:30 left in regulation. Young earlier had a 1-yard touchdown run for the game’s first score with 1:31 left in the first quarter.

The game didn’t feature a lot of offense as Pearl River managed just 204 yards, while East Central had just 201.

The East Central defense forced six turnovers, including five interceptions. Warriors defensive back Desmond Williams had four interceptions on the night.

Llanes Dickerson had a 1-yard touchdown run and 25-yard touchdown catch to lead East Central offensively. Running back Larry Wilson had 92 yards rushing for the Warriors.

“I really think both teams are trying to find an identity. For us, we’ve played really well on defense and on special teams, and on offense we can’t find a rhythm consistently,” Karcher said. “We’ve been struggling on offense with a young offensive line and injuries, but the guys fought hard tonight and found a way to win.”

East Central (2-3, 2-1 MACCC South) travels to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College next week, while Pearl River (1-4, 0-3) hosts Holmes Community College.

Dustin Allison had 117 yards passing for Pearl River. Young had 49 yards rushing for the Wildcats.

“Really all year it’s just been getting into a rhythm, and our kids are doing everything we’re asking them to do, and I’m doing a horrible job of putting them in position,” Pearl River head coach Seth Smith said. “It’s bad coaching on my part. The kids fought all night, and the defense was really good, and every time we’d do something good, we’d turn the ball over.”