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Turnovers doom NMCC against Green Wave
MALDEN -- New head coach John Dryden's first game at the helm of New Madrid County Central is likely one the Eagles would like to quickly put behind them.
Plagued by turnovers and struggles on the line, NMCC watched a veteran heavy Malden squad run away early Friday en rout to a 54-26 win.
"We have a long ways to go," Dryden said. "We are in brand new systems in all three phases of the game. We have some really good skills positions, but we're very young in our offensive line. Of our first six or seven guys on our offensive line we have one senior and one junior with experience.
"Everyone else is sophomores."
Except for a couple late touchdowns against the Green Wave's junior varsity defense, the Eagles never got much going offensively. NMCC's only points in the first half came on a pair of kickoff returns that kept them within striking distance.
Malden out-gained the Eagles 389-89 in total yards with 249 yards coming from their ground game. Cortez Dobbins and Dremond Robinson did most of the damage.
Dobbins collected a game-high 109 yards on just seven carries for a 15.6 yard-per-carry average while collecting two scores. Robinson had nine attempts for 55 yards and a touchdown.
Malden quarterback Chapen Riley made the most of his limited opportunities through the air connecting on 6 of 12 passes for 140 yards and four scores with no picks.
"We'd get them to fourth down or third and long and once again it would come down to fundamentals," Dryden said. "We'd have a fundamental breakdown on what we wanted to do and they took advantage. They have a great football team with a lot of seniors so it's going to be tough."
NMCC's offense on the other hand found success on a few big plays only to see breakdowns keep them in a hole. They rushed for 109 positive yards in the contest, but plays such a missed lateral that cost them 17 yards left the Eagles with 100 lost yards on the ground.
Their mistakes often meant points for the Green Wave, including after a three-and-out on their opening possession.
A snap over the Eagles' punter's head allowed Malden to score on their first offensive play of the night - an 8-yard run from Robinson - and they never relinquished the lead.
NMCC lost a fumble, one of four on the night, to end their second series and Malden's Cortez Dobbins made them pay with a run from 10 yards out to put his team up 13-0 after the extra-point.
A 93-yard kickoff return from Malik Stevenson kept the Eagles within a score, but they quickly fell back when the Green Wave went to the air.
Three of Riley's first five passes went for touchdowns as he put Malden ahead 46-12 entering the half.
"They were really cramming the box and playing man-to-man, really creeping up," Malden head coach Joel Wyatt said of NMCC's defense. "We figured we could get over the top with some scissor routes. That's something we really work on."
Wyatt added he was pleased with his team for holding NMCC in check despite the absence of one of their top defenders, junior linebacker Nick Thompson.
"If it would have ended after three quarters I would have been extremely pleased, but it was a great effort," Wyatt said, referring to his team giving up 14 fourth quarter points. "Especially when you consider a 100 tackle and 14 touchdown guy in Nick Thompson is on the sidelines. Our kids have just bought in to the mentality of no one man is bigger than the team. It's next man up."
If the Eagles are looking for bright spots entering next week's home opener against Sikeston they can turn to their special teams, which compiled 301 yards on kickoffs and had Malden avoiding their return men by the end of the game.
Willie Jimerson had a game-high 150 of those yards that included an 83-yard return for a touchdown while Stevenson finished with 115 returns yards and a 93 yard score.
"We have a long ways to go, but there was some positives," Dryden said. "Our special teams are solid. We have to do a better job in that as well, but there is some good bright spots. Anytime you return two kicks in a game, that's a big deal.
"We'll get better each week. We'll take them in to film and see what's going in. We'll be able to adjust and move forward."
Malden 54, NMCC 26
| NMCC | 6 | 6 | 0 | 14 | - | 26 |
| Malden | 19 | 27 | 8 | 0 | - | 54 |
First Quarter
M -- Dremond Robinson 7 run (Chapen Riley pass failed), 10:22
M -- Cortez Dobbins 10 run (Chapen Riley kick good), 3:05
N -- Malik Stevenson 93 kickoff return (Cole Nowell run failed), 2:50
M -- Chapen Riley 28 pass to Parker McCormick (Jeremy Jones run failed), 0:38
Second Quarter
M -- Chapen Riley 16 pass to Zach Gray (Chapen Riley kick good), 11:39
M -- Chapen Riley 38 pass to Jeremy Jones (Dremond Robinson run good), 7:59
M -- Jeremy Jones 21 run (Chapen Riley kick failed), 2:32
N -- Willie Jimerson 83 kickoff return (Malik Stevenson run failed), 2:18
M -- Cortez Dobbins 65 run (Chapen Riley kick failed), 1:56
Third Quarter
M -- Chapen Riley 12 pass to Jeremy Jones (Dremond Robinson run good), 5:39
Fourth Quarter
N -- J.C. Dryden 19 pass to Willie Jimerson (Jordan Lynn run good), 8:01
N -- Mikeal Walker 25 run (J.C. Dryden pass failed), 5:03
| N | M | |
| First downs | 8 | 18 |
| Total yards | 89 | 389 |
| Rushes-yards | 28-9 | 41-249 |
| Passing yards | 80 | 140 |
| Comp.-Att.-Int. | 7-19-1 | 6-12-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 4-4 | 1-1 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-45 | 10-86 |
Rushing -- NMCC, Mikeal Walker 5-34, Brock Blakey 5-(-41), Malik Stevenson 4-21, Cole Nowell 4-(-2), T.J. Clark 3-(-17), Javarcus Word 2-(-8), Asten Newsom 1-22, Drew Pikey 1-3, Larry McIntosh 1-2, Jordan Lynn 1-(-1), J.C. Dryden 1-(-4); Malden, Tyler Currie 11-43, Dremond Robinson 9-55, Cortez Dobbins 7-109, Bryce Nelson 7-1, Shaeen Perkins 2-13, Dee Triplett 2-10, Howie Payne 2-(-3), Jeremy Jones 1-21.
Passing -- NMCC, J.C. Dyden 7-19-1 80; Malden, Chapen Riley 6-12-0 140.
Receiving -- Asten Newsom 3-72, Willie Jimerson 2-17, Javarcus Word 1-(-1), Mark Messmer 1-(-8); Malden, Jeremy Jones 2-50, Parker McCormick 2-49, Dremond Robinson 1-25, Zach Gray 1-16.