Trojans drop division opener at NW

The Mississippi Delta Community College football program went on the road for the first time on Thursday night looking to pick up their first win of the season, and more importantly, their first division win. Things were not meant to be, however, as the Trojans fell to No. 4 Northwest Community College, 33-3, in Senatobia.

MDCC fell to 0-3 after the defeat, while Northwest improved to 3-0.

The Rangers of Northwest took an early 7-0 lead with 9:19 in the opening quarter and never looked back, as Uzziah Shephard found the endzone from five yards out and Cole Catalano followed with the point after attempt.

Catalano added a 33-yard field goal less than five minutes later, and after a 19-yard touchdown run from Jaq Williams and a Catalano point after, the Rangers were up, 17-0, with 9:39 remaining before halftime.

On the next possession, MDCC was forced to punt, but the football sailed out of the endzone for a safety to make it 19-0. Shephard added his second touchdown of the night, this time from two yards out, to move the Northwest lead to 26-0 after the Catalano PAT. This would complete the scoring for the first half, with the Rangers clinging to a 26-point lead.

In the second half, it was the Rangers that scored first again, this time Jack Walker to Braden Smith for a 61-yard touchdown strike to push the Northwest advantage to 33-0 with 11:17 left in the third quarter.

Spencer Romero (Brookhaven) was able to get MDCC on the board with 10:48 left in the game, when his 26-yard kick was good and cut the Northwest lead to 33-3. This would complete the scoring for the night for both programs.

MDCC finished with 232 yards on 64 plays, while Northwest ran 62 plays for 386 yards.

Delta quarterback Jordan Gilleylen (Tupelo) finished 14-27 for 158 yards, with Lebarron Jones (Mobile, Ala.) serving as his main target once again, as the sophomore wide receiver had six catches for 92 yards.

On the unofficial defensive stats side, the Trojans were headed up by George Jackson (Rolling Fork) and Montreal Huff (Montgomery, Ala.), as the duo had nine tackles apiece. Huff also grabbed one tackle for loss and two assisted tackles for loss.

MDCC will be back home next Thursday, hosting perennial power East Mississippi Community College in a North division matchup. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Jim Randall Stadium in Moorhead.