Coahoma Early College High School could not get much going with any of its running backs, but senior quarterback Willie Eagins stepped up with 177 passing yards for two touchdowns en route to a 19-6 win at Leland Friday night.
Eagins, who also rushed for 13 yards, threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to senior Corey Suggs Jr. and a 30-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Demarco Williams. Suggs also had 10 tackles and one sack, while Williams had an interception.
“Overall, the passing game opened up and we needed it because we couldn’t get anything going on the run,” said Tigers coach Jeremiah Brassell. “So we were sort of forced to pass and Willie made some good reads.”
The other Tigers (1-1) touchdown came on the Cubs’ (0-2) opening possession. CECHS senior linebacker Markevious Brown returned a fumble for a 15-yard touchdown and kicked the PAT.
Even though the Tigers secured their first win of the season, Brassell saw room for improvement.
“We jumped out 19-0,” he said. “Then we became very sluggish. We’ve got to get to the point of finishing the game.”
CECHS lost at home to Clarksdale 32-7 in Week 1, but only trailed 12-7 at halftime. Brassell felt his team’s play in the second half in Week 1 resulted from running out of gas.
“This week, it wasn’t running out of gas,” he said. “We just started making a lot of mental mistakes. That really got us some unnecessary penalties.”
Junior Kiarrouse Elmore returned a kickoff more than 70 yards, but turned the ball over on a fumble in the win.
“Showed lots of potential,” Brassell said. “In the game, so many younger kids stepped up.”
Senior running back and defensive back Chris Russell finished with 58 rushing yards and four tackles, senior fullback and linebacker Markevious Brown had 31 yards rushing and 7½ tackles, and junior linebacker Jeremiah Brassell Jr. had five tackles and one sack.
The Tigers host Holly Springs (1-1), coming off of a 54-8 home win against Ashland, at 7 p.m. Friday.
“We need to put together a complete game,” Brassell said. “The passing game is going. Now, we need to get the running game going. It would be nice to get them both going at the same time. Special teams played excellent, though. We had a couple of big return carries.”
Senior wide receiver and free safety Thomas Williams Jr. is out with a sprained MCL for one more week, but everyone else is expected to be available.
Brassell encouraged fans to attend the game.
“Overall, I just hope that we had the same support we had the first week,” he said. “Come out and support these kids because they put in so much work and time and energy that we shouldn’t neglect them. So please come out and support them.”
