Published: October 02, 2008 10:26 am            

ECCC preview

By Chris Brennaman

assistant sports editor

DECATUR — A week after losing to one of the state's remaining winless teams, East Central Community College will try to avoid a similar fate tonight when the Warriors take on Northeast Mississippi Community College.

ECCC travels to Booneville for a matchup of two 0-5 teams in a non-division game, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

Last week, the Warriors dropped their homecoming contest to Southwest Mississippi, which picked up its first victory of the year.

EC had its least-productive offensive outing of the 2008, scoring only nine points and gathering only 264 yards of total offense. The Warriors had been averaging more than 400 yards per game.

East Central held a 9-6 lead at halftime on a 4-yard touchdown by former Northeast Lauderdale standout Maurice Langston and a field goal by Neshoba Central product Derek Crenshaw.

The Warriors gave up two touchdowns in the second half as Steve Cheatham was once again denied his first victory at the helm of the Warriors.

Northeast is coming off a 30-7 loss to Holmes. The Tigers were trailing by three at halftime, but gave up a big second half to fall for the fifth straight week.

East Central, after its subpar performance during homecoming weekend, dropped from fourth in the state to seventh in total offense at 343 yards per game. Northeast is averaging 250.

Defensively, the Warriors have given up a state-worst 20 touchdowns. EC's opponents have put up 337 yards per game, while the Tigers have allowed 354.

        

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