Wesson, Miss. – Mitchell Cunningham and the Northeast Mississippi Community College running backs made an early statement against defending state champion Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
The freshman from Ecru led a Tiger ground game that fought its way to 252 total yards, but No. 9 Co-Lin used a late touchdown to pull away from Northeast and win the season opener for both teams 29-20 at H.L. Stone Stadium in Wesson.
"The line came out and blocked for me. I put my head down and ran behind the pads. If a hole wasn't there, I made a hole." said Cunningham. "We've got two other backs (Corbin White and Tez Lane) that did the same thing I did. We have a pretty good backfield."
Cunningham received the majority of the carries with 17 and compiled 87 yards in his first collegiate game. He did not cross into the end zone, but did help set up the Tigers scores.
Northeast's second scoring drive of the game began with a 20-yard run into Co-Lin territory by Cunningham. Six plays later, tight end Ricky Parks caught a pass from quarterback Jerrard Randall one-handed and made a defender miss to finish a touchdown play.
The spectacular grab gave the Tigers (0-1) a 13-10 lead with 10:27 remaining until halftime, but the extra point attempt was fumbled and recovered by Chris Richmond.
Richmond raced 85-yards for a defensive two-point conversion that turned the momentum of the contest and cut Northeast's advantage to 13-12.
Co-Lin (1-0) quickly retook the lead on its next possession and held it for the remainder of the game. The second of two Blayne Jones field goals and a Van Lee 1-yard touchdown run put the Wolves up 22-13 at the break.
Defense kept Northeast in the game during the third quarter after Co-Lin received great starting field position on multiple drives. Antwan Wilson and Miguel Graham both intercepted Daniel Fitzwater passes in the end zone to stop the Wolves from adding to their point total.
"Coach (Jonathan) Webster's group (of defensive backs) does a great job," said Tigers head coach Ricky Smither. "That's one of the better parts of our team. We expect them to play well and they did tonight and I was really proud of that."
Graham's pickoff turned into points for Northeast. The trio of Cunningham, White and Lane combined for twelve carries in a 13-play, 78-yard drive that ran into the fourth quarter.
Randall capped the possession with a quarterback sneak of three yards for the touchdown which cut Co-Lin's lead to two points, 22-20, after Chris Cooper's extra point.
Lee, though, completed a phenomenal game four minutes later with his second rushing score of the evening that clinched the victory for the Wolves. The sophomore finished with 166 yards on 25 carries.
"The kids played hard," said Smither. "(Co-Lin head coach) Glenn Davis always fields a great football team and he's good again this year. As far as us, we made too may mistakes but we'll go back to the drawing board."
Co-Lin opened the game with a quick 10-0 advantage when Fitzwater completed a short touchdown pass to Koy McFarland and Jones was successful on a 30-yard field goal.
The Tigers answered when Randall found Raymond Gee open for a 3-yard scoring connection. Randall, in his first game since transferring from Louisiana State, passed for 90 yards and rushed for another 40.
Northeast and Co–Lin each had 17 first downs, but the Wolves edged the battle of total yards and garnered 311 compared to the Tigers' 303. The passing game led Co-Lin, with Fitzwater finishing 19 of 33 for 179 yards.
Jamel Dennis made an impact on defense for the Tigers. The former state champion out of Lafayette County High School had ten combined tackles, two sacks and a pass breakup to lead a Northeast defense that got stronger as the game moved along.
The Northeast Tigers look to rebound next week when they open their 2013 home slate against Jones County Junior College. Kickoff at Tiger Stadium between Northeast and the Bobcats (1-0) is slated for 6:30 p.m.