The Coahoma Community College football team had their work cut out for them going against the MACCC North conference leader, Northeast Mississippi Community College, on Thursday evening. It was Northeast's Homecoming, and they did not disappoint their home fans, who witnessed their 13-10 victory over CCC in Booneville, Mississippi.
Coahoma Head Coach Travis Macon exerts positive energy to his team stating they have to return to the drawing board and fix themselves before another matchup. "We made too many mistakes that came back to get us later in the game, we have to return to the drawing board. We are going to take this game and learn from it, we are a young team and I try reminding my players," said Coach Macon.
Northeast started the game with an up-tempo offense moving the ball quickly, but CCC's defense held strong throughout the competition. On Coahoma's second drive of the game, Bryce Wallace threw an interception to Marcus Rule Jr, putting the Northeast offense in scoring position. The defense held them to only a field goal making the score 3-0. On the following drive, the CCC Tigers were moving the ball efficiently, but unfortunately, another interception was thrown as Bryce Wallace attempted to take a shot in the end zone. The pass was intercepted for a touchback.
The second quarter was very similar to the first, with Coahoma's offense moving the ball effectively but struggling to find the end zone. After a turnover on downs, Northeast went on an 11-play drive ending with a touchdown by Andison Coby. Those points were the last scored for the remainder of the half, and Northeast went into halftime with a 10-0 lead. Coahoma fans sat patiently during the half time break to continue cheering on their Tigers, with hopes of a comeback victory. Coach Macon saw the importance of pushing his players during the half time break mentally. "I told them to keep fighting; that's something we preach every day in practice, no game is won in the first half," said Coach Macon.
Tigers came out the 2nd half, motivated to turn the tide of the game. On Northeast's first possession, a bad snap sent the ball over the quarterback head and into Coahoma's end zone. The fumble was recovered by Zacchaeus Burnett, giving Coahoma their first touchdown of the night. Noah Sisk followed up with a successful extra point making the score 10-7. Having scored the first defensive touchdown of the season, the stifling Coahoma defense forces a bad punt and puts the offense on Northeast's 28-yard line. After six plays, Coahoma's offense made their way to the six-yard line and ended the drive with a field goal from Noah Sisk.
The score would now be tied at 10, giving both team's fans the heated matchup they expected.
Coahoma was trying to hold on to the momentum, but turnovers continued to plague the offense in the second half. On their next drive, Joe Johnson fumbled on a quarterback keep in red zone territory, giving the ball back to Northeast. However, Tiger's defense stayed resilient by forcing a fumble and keeping Northeast's offense on their heels. " I do think we played well, but we were on the field too long, and when you leave those guys out there, eventually, things like this loss happens," said Coach Macon.
The Teams battled back and forth in rainy conditions for the remainder of that quarter and well into the fourth.
The outpouring rain was no help as Coahoma's Wallace could not connect certain passes. Macon said he is not making any excuses for his team, but the weather did play a significant part in tonight's performance. "With our style of offense, when it starts raining, it changes up our game plan. It then becomes a running game. Tonight, we just didn't get it done," said Coach Macon. The Tigers fought to the very last minute trying to gain yardage, but too many errors were hindrances.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Tigers defense forced a punt but unfortunately resulted in a fumble giving Northeast the ball on their 13-yard line. They capitalized with a field goal putting them up 13-10 with only three minutes remaining in the game. The inclement weather made it difficult for CCC Tigers to throw the ball and get themselves in scoring position and ended the game with a turnover on downs. In the end, Macon was impressed with the offensive line and all the running backs.
"Our running backs did really good and ran the ball really hard," exclaimed Macon. The Tigers will commute to Northwest for their next matchup on Oct.29. "We are going to use next week to get better, to get Coahoma Tigers better, and prepare for Northwest."
Please be reminded that the CCC homecoming game scheduled against Mississippi Delta Community College on Oct.24 has been canceled amid safety concerns. Please stay tuned for all updates at www.coahomasports.com.
