Bulldogs fall in North Division opener, 19-3
FULTON --- Two costly mistakes by the Holmes Community College Bulldog offense resulted in 13 huge points for Itawamba Community College here Thursday night as the Indians took the North Division opener for both squads, 19-3.
With the loss, the Bulldogs fell to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the North Division. Holmes travels to East Central Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The game can be heard on the Bulldog Football Network at 101.1 FM, 100.1 FM, 103.9 FM or at breezynews.com. You can also add the Breezy News app to your iPhone or Android device. The game could possibly be streamed at holmescmedia.com.
The Bulldogs took an early 3-0 lead when sophomore kicker Cole Ballard nailed a 41-yard field goal with 7:10 left in the first quarter.
Holmes held the lead until 6:11 when the Indians got their first points of the night when D'Andre Belton scored from six yards out. Tyler Jackson's extra point was good making the score, 7-3.
The Indians then took advantage of the first Bulldog miscue when Devan Gilleylen intercepted sophomore quarterback Jamario Benson at midfield and took it back to the Bulldog 37. Two plays later, Belton connected with Levarious Varnado on a 38-yard touchdown pass. The two-point try failed and Itawamba led 13-3 with 2:27 left in the third quarter.
Itawamba added their final points of the night after Chance McNulty stripped the ball from Benson and raced all the way from the Holmes 47 to the Holmes 7. Richard McQuarley scored two plays later from a yard out. The two-point pass failed ended all scoring at 19-3.
Freshman Dre Massey led the Bulldogs in rushing with 71 yards on seven carries while freshman Michael Howard had 42 yards on nine carries and sophomore Mitchell Cunningham had 41 yards on 12 carries. Defensively, sophomore Antreon Bennett had 12 tackles including five solos and one tackle for loss. Sophomores Traver Jung and Broderick Fordham had eight tackles each with Jung adding two tackles for loss and one blocked field goal. Freshman Mohamed Camara had seven tackles while freshman Andrew Walker had six with an interception, the first of the season.