By Bryan Davis/The Enterprise-Tocsin
With just three games left in the regular season, the Mississippi Delta Community College Trojans (2-4) seemed to have found their groove.
Head Coach Jeff Tatum's bunch, which includes a mostly freshman roster, took down the Northeast Mississippi Community College football team last Friday night by a 41-11 score.
"Most of it is the maturity of our freshmen and them understanding what we're asking of them," Tatum said of the recent turnaround that includes a two-game win streak. "They have been playing hard all along."
MDCC will hit the field for its 2018 homecoming game this Saturday against Itawamba Community College (4-2). Kickoff is at 2:30 that afternoon.
As for last Thursday's gridiron match, the Trojans' offense showed a good mix from its passer, Tyrique McAfee and its rushing game.
McAfee threw the ball 21 times on the night and completed 12 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns. His longest pass was for 37 yards, according to stats from MDCC.
Leading in the receiving game was Marquise McCoy with 50 yards on four receptions.
Raheem Moore and Zion Washington both had 64 yards and one touchdown on three catches.
On the rushing side, Patrick Jackson rushed 22 times for 50 yards and a touchdown, while McAfee had 11 keepers for 34 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Daniel Peppers also had a 20-yard touchdown on a punt return.
On the defensive side, Antonio James had nine total tackles, including five assists.
Antonio Boyd had seven tackles, six solo. Jaylan Woods also had seven total tackles, and Peppers recorded five.
Meanwhile, the Trojans will face a 4-2 Itawamba team, which is coming off a 37-34 win over a strong Holmes Community College program.
Itawamba's two losses came against No. 1 East Mississippi Community College (56-26) and East Central Community College (34-28).
Aside from Holmes, Itawamba has defeated Pearl River Community College (34-30), Coahoma Community College (49-28) and Northeast Community College.
Tatum said he expects the Indians defense to pose the biggest threat to MDCC.
"They are one of the top junior college teams in the north," Tatum said.
The Trojans coach said that his team's success will depend on execution on offense and defense.
He said he hopes the progress of the last two games will carry over into homecoming Saturday.