(Tupelo, MS) The Mississippi MudCats of the AIFA continued their undefeated season this past Saturday night, when they beat the Florence Phantoms 40 to 39 at the BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo.
Trey Crum, the MudCats kicker, pulled out the winning field goal kick with 4 seconds left in the game. He made 4 of his 5 extra point kicks and provided 2 field goal kicks, including the winning kick for a total of 10 points in the game. He continues to be the number 2 scorer for the MudCats with 81 points.
Wide receiver Darryl Carter continues to lead the MudCats as their number 1 scorer. He produced 2 touchdown passes from Tommy Jones for a total of 12 points, bringing his season total to 108 points scored this season.
Veteran QB Tommy Jones passed for 3 touchdowns, bringing his season total to 39 touchdown passes and ran 1 touchdown in Saturday night’s game.
Maurice Avery and Josh Smith, two all purpose players, also had 1 touchdown each against the Phantoms. Avery returned a missed field goal in the 3rd quarter to the 2 yard line and then connected with Jones for a 5 yard touchdown pass in the end zone for his touchdown. Smith recovered a MudCats fumble close to the end of the 4th quarter for his touchdown, which put the MudCats in the lead at 37 to 36 with only minutes left in the game.
Head Coach Brian Brents had said prior to the game, “That this could be the best team that the MudCats have faced so for this season,” and it was. However, the MudCats continued to be consistent with their game plan and just never gave up.
The defense produced 3 sacks against the Phantoms in which Jason Clark and Naton Stewart were the main defenders. Tackles were led by Sam Smith, Jason Clark and Eric Bingham.
The MudCats will travel this coming weekend to Columbus, GA to face the Columbus Lions on Friday night, May 9th at the Columbus Civic Center. The Lions are looking to defeat the Mississippi MudCats as they both vie for the #1 position in their division. Updated information on the MudCats can be found at www.mississippimudcats.com.