MOORHEAD - Mississippi Delta Community College can erase the painful memories of an 0-3 start with another North Division win Thursday when the Trojans play at Itawamba.
The Trojans are coming of a 14-7 victory over Northeast Mississippi.
Both teams enter Thursday's North Division matchup at 1-3, but Itawamba is 0-2 in the league standings after falling 35-0 to Northwest last week.
The Indians opened the season with such promise after knocking off Jones County 21-0, but that game was followed with a 63-9 loss to Gulf Coast.
"Itawamba has a good football team, but like us, they have been killing themselves with mistakes at the worst possible times," MDCC coach Jay Miller said. "This week's game could come down to who manages to make the fewest mistakes, and it looks like we'll be playing on a wet field again if not in the rain."
In last week's loss to Northwest, the Indians had six key starters sidelined by the flu and still managed to hold the Rangers' high-octane offense to just 100 yards in the first half.
Offensively, the Indians are averaging about 112 yards rushing per game and 257 yards through the air. Freshman quarterback Bret Jefcoat is completing more than 50 percent of his passes.
Defensively, though, the Indians are near the bottom of the state rankings, allowing more than 380 yards per game.
The Trojans are averaging 140 yards per game on the ground and 105 yards per game through the air. Defensively, MDCC is ranked second in the state, allowing a total of 246 yards per game - 95 on the ground and 151 through the air.
The Trojans will be without sophomore all-state offensive tackle Will Kent for the rest of the season. The former Pillow Academy standout broke a bone in his right foot two weeks ago in a game against Copiah-Lincoln.
He has a boot on his injured foot and is walking on crutches. He said he will be off crutches in two more weeks and then out of the boot in another two weeks.
"I have gotten a medical redshirt, so if I don't get any offers at the end of the year, I guess I will stick around (at MDCC) or find somewhere else to play," said Kent, who will be nine hours short of graduating at Christmas break. "I expect the bigger schools, the Division I schools to back off some recruiting after the injury. We'll just have to see what happens."
