Post by rkb on Apr 20, 2008 8:53:24 GMT -5
www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=271995&pub=1&div=Sports
MudCats escape Speed trap, 37-33
4/20/2008 6:32:04 AM
Daily Journal
By John L. Pitts
Daily Journal
TUPELO - It was the night ol' Dixie almost drove them down.
New Carolina Speed quarterback Dixie Wooten, a veteran of indoor football just obtained a few days ago, had his team in the lead for much of the night on hostile turf. But the unbeaten Mississippi MudCats pulled off a wild rally in the fourth quarter for a 37-33 win before 2,919 fans at BancorpSouth Arena.
Quarterback Tommy Jones atoned for a night of struggles with a 40-yard rainbow to Darryl Carter and the go-ahead touchdown with 36 seconds remaining. Former Ole Miss standout Travis Johnson then sealed it with an interception with 17,3 seconds left.
"I think that's the best team we've coached against and the best effort I seen our guys make in terms of never giving up," an elated - and exhausted - MudCats coach Brian Brents said when it was over. His team is 5-0 this season, 12-0 in two seasons at BCS Arena.
The game opened a three-week hometand for the MudCats, who play Augusta next Saturday night and Florence on May 3.
Wooten accounted for five touchdowns for the Speed (3-3), three passing, and his 30-yard scoring strike to DaMarcus Fox gave the Speed a 33-24 lead with 10:14 remaining in the game. Jones soon followed with his third and fourth interceptions of the night, and it looked like even Indiana Jones couldn't manage an escape from the hole the MudCats had dug.
But Jones engineered a pair of scoring passes in the final 2:11, hitting Josh Smith with a 9-yard TD after the Speed failed to convert on a kick fake deep in their own territory.
The MudCats defense stiffened again and the offense got the last shot at the end zone it needed.
"Give all the credit to our offense tonight," said Jones. "I was having a terrible night and they kept us in it."
Still, the Jones-to-Carter combintion had clicked for threer TDs (15, 5, 18 before the final game winner, which was a classic connection between the two. "That's Tommy," Carter said. "He throws it up and lets the receiver make a play.
"That was a tough situation to be in, and a tough way to win. But I'll take it."
The MudCats found themselves in an unaccustomed position for much of the first half - behind.
The Speed needed just four plays to score on their first series, with Wooten throwing 22 yards to Fox for the touchdown.
The home team trailed after the first quarter, 6-0, for the first time this season.
Mississippi's first two series of the night ended with a missed field goal and and a Jones interception. Jones clicked on his third series, hitting Darryl Carter for a 15-yard TD. Kicker Trey Crum added the point-after kick, and a 31-yard field goal on his team's next series for a 10-6 lead.
Carolina appeared to be in trouble on its next series when Jason Clark tossed Wooten down inside the 5. But the Speed got new life on a facemask call against Clark and scored five plays later as Wooten bounced into the end zone from the 5. The point-after failed.
Crum, the AIFA's most accurate kicker coming into the game, missed a 50-yarder on the final play before halftime and the home team went to the locker room trailing 12-10.
Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 4/20/2008, section B , page 1
Wish I could have been there for this one. Great come back. Crowd was a little better this week. Hopefully more (myself included) will be there next week.
MudCats escape Speed trap, 37-33
4/20/2008 6:32:04 AM
Daily Journal
By John L. Pitts
Daily Journal
TUPELO - It was the night ol' Dixie almost drove them down.
New Carolina Speed quarterback Dixie Wooten, a veteran of indoor football just obtained a few days ago, had his team in the lead for much of the night on hostile turf. But the unbeaten Mississippi MudCats pulled off a wild rally in the fourth quarter for a 37-33 win before 2,919 fans at BancorpSouth Arena.
Quarterback Tommy Jones atoned for a night of struggles with a 40-yard rainbow to Darryl Carter and the go-ahead touchdown with 36 seconds remaining. Former Ole Miss standout Travis Johnson then sealed it with an interception with 17,3 seconds left.
"I think that's the best team we've coached against and the best effort I seen our guys make in terms of never giving up," an elated - and exhausted - MudCats coach Brian Brents said when it was over. His team is 5-0 this season, 12-0 in two seasons at BCS Arena.
The game opened a three-week hometand for the MudCats, who play Augusta next Saturday night and Florence on May 3.
Wooten accounted for five touchdowns for the Speed (3-3), three passing, and his 30-yard scoring strike to DaMarcus Fox gave the Speed a 33-24 lead with 10:14 remaining in the game. Jones soon followed with his third and fourth interceptions of the night, and it looked like even Indiana Jones couldn't manage an escape from the hole the MudCats had dug.
But Jones engineered a pair of scoring passes in the final 2:11, hitting Josh Smith with a 9-yard TD after the Speed failed to convert on a kick fake deep in their own territory.
The MudCats defense stiffened again and the offense got the last shot at the end zone it needed.
"Give all the credit to our offense tonight," said Jones. "I was having a terrible night and they kept us in it."
Still, the Jones-to-Carter combintion had clicked for threer TDs (15, 5, 18 before the final game winner, which was a classic connection between the two. "That's Tommy," Carter said. "He throws it up and lets the receiver make a play.
"That was a tough situation to be in, and a tough way to win. But I'll take it."
The MudCats found themselves in an unaccustomed position for much of the first half - behind.
The Speed needed just four plays to score on their first series, with Wooten throwing 22 yards to Fox for the touchdown.
The home team trailed after the first quarter, 6-0, for the first time this season.
Mississippi's first two series of the night ended with a missed field goal and and a Jones interception. Jones clicked on his third series, hitting Darryl Carter for a 15-yard TD. Kicker Trey Crum added the point-after kick, and a 31-yard field goal on his team's next series for a 10-6 lead.
Carolina appeared to be in trouble on its next series when Jason Clark tossed Wooten down inside the 5. But the Speed got new life on a facemask call against Clark and scored five plays later as Wooten bounced into the end zone from the 5. The point-after failed.
Crum, the AIFA's most accurate kicker coming into the game, missed a 50-yarder on the final play before halftime and the home team went to the locker room trailing 12-10.
Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 4/20/2008, section B , page 1
Wish I could have been there for this one. Great come back. Crowd was a little better this week. Hopefully more (myself included) will be there next week.