Booneville, Miss. - Brett Thompson wisely obeyed to the recommendation of Northeast Mississippi Community College receiver LaVontis Smith during a critical situation on Thursday night.
Thompson found Smith in the back corner of the end zone for a touchdown that finished a thrilling comeback by the Tigers and lifted Northeast to a 25-19 overtime victory over Northwest Mississippi Community College to conclude a successful Military Appreciation Night at Tiger Stadium.
Northeast won the coin toss before the extra period began and chose to take the field on defense first. The decision proved to be the right call after the Rangers were put into a three-and-out situation following a big tackle for loss by Mario Virges.
Jim Speights attempted a 40-yard field goal, but his try fell to the ground just short of the goalpost and the Tigers took possession with a chance to complete their come-from-behind effort.
It took only three plays for the Tigers to score the game winner. Thompson connected with a diving Smith, who stayed in bounds and secured the 13-yard catch against one-on-one coverage to send Northeast into a frenzied celebration in front of the new Tiger Fieldhouse.
"Von came up to me and said, 'I can beat him to the back pylon,'" Thompson said. "We have great trust in each other. I threw it to him and he made a play for me."
The triumph marked the third occasion in the last four seasons that the Tigers have defeated Northwest. It is the first time since a stretch from 1977-80 with National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Hall of Famer W.B. "Bill" Ward on the Northeast sidelines for the Tigers to accomplish this feat.
It is also the first overtime win on record for Northeast in program history. The Tigers were previously 0-4 in contests that extended past regulation dating back to the 2009 campaign.
Ricky Smither matched Andy Greening as the second winningest head coach at Northeast with the victory. Smither's Tigers have now won their Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division opener for two consecutive years.
"I can't explain in words what this means to us," said Smither. "It's hard to hold back the tears when you see guys like that giving everything they've got. I'm just very proud of them and very blessed."
Thompson, who is a product of Lake Cormorant High School, completed 8 of 14 passes after halftime for 169 yards and four touchdowns to help the Tigers erase a 19-0 advantage by the Rangers. He totaled a career-high 203 yards with a quarterback rating of 169.1.
Neither team touched the scoreboard in the opening quarter, but Northwest faced third-and-goal when the action resumed. Jamel Dennis stopped the Rangers (0-3, 0-1) with a sack and held them to a short field goal by Speights.
Kendall Carr tackled Corbin White in the end zone moments later for a safety on the Tigers' first play of their ensuing drive to extend Northwest's advantage to 5-0 with 13:56 remaining until the break.
Roger Thomas made the score 12-0 in favor of the Rangers at the intermission with a touchdown sprint. Quandez Lee then caught a five-yard scoring pass from Karsten Miller to give Northwest a seemingly comfortable 19-0 lead early in the third.
The Rangers were set to return to offense once again, but Jacob Meeks' punt took an awkward hop off the hands of Marcel Newson and was fallen on by Tadarious Clinton. The fumble recovery provided a needed spark for Northeast and shifted the momentum to the Tigers' sideline for the duration of the contest.
Northeast (1-2, 1-0) made its rival pay for the turnover seconds later with a 39-yard toss from Thompson to White, who stretched across the goal line to cut the Tigers' deficit to 19-7.
Joe Horn, Jr., garnered his second highlight reel catch in as many weeks just before the horn sounded to end the third period. The Atlanta, Ga., product made a one-handed snag and outran a defender for the first touchdown of his collegiate career.
Smith brought the matchup into a stalemate at 19-19 midway through the fourth with a beautiful 25-yard scoring reception. In two career games versus Northwest, the Maben native has 13 catches for 285 yards and five touchdowns.
"It's phenomenal. I just want to thank the Lord," Smith said. "We were in a fight and we knew that we had to come through no matter what."
The Rangers put together one last attempt to retake the lead before overtime and drove deep into Northeast territory. However, Dennis grabbed a Northwest fumble with less than one minute left on the clock to ensure that the contest reached a fifth period.
Dennis, who graduated from Lafayette County High School, notched a game-high 13 tackles. Marcus Robinson topped both squads with 10 solo stops and also tallied 2.5 tackles for a loss of nine yards.
Baldwyn's Orlandous Davis recorded his best outing in a Northeast uniform as well with eight tackles and one sack.
White accounted for 120 all-purpose yards with the majority coming on the ground. Chester Lewis also contributed for the Tigers, who outgained the Rangers offensively 310-292, with a solid 27-yard run that set up Smith's touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Northeast resumes its MACJC North Division slate on Thursday, September 18 with a road trip to East Mississippi Community College. Kickoff between the Tigers and top ranked Lions is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Sullivan-Windham Field in Scooba.