Northeast Football Conference Championship Game Preview

By Don Lockwood, Erie Community College

When Erie has the ball- The Kats are led by freshman tailback Derrick Beckworth who was the conference's leading rusher with 678 yards. He missed the last game against Georgia Military with an injury but all indications are he will be ready for the game. ECC also has Zach Kedron who was second on the team with 491 yards. He also was the team's leading receiver with 20 receptions. He has breakaway speed that will keep Nassau 's linebackers honest.

The Kats passing game has been inconsistent this year with three quarterbacks taking snaps this season. Neil Hallimen has started the last six games, throwing for 462 yards and four touchdowns. Ray Braxton has also appeared in nine games this year, throwing for 411 yards and five touchdowns. Damar Dowell is the Kats best receiver, grabbing 11 balls for 202 yards and four scores. Jeremy Burr is the best deep threat with 19 catches for 277 yards and three touchdowns.

The Lion's defense will be led by Mike Heigh and Issac Mitchell who finished 1-2 on the team in tackles. They held the Kats to 227 yards in their first meeting this year, a 30-19 Nassau victory.

When Nassau has the ball- Nassau is led by a two-headed monster in the backfield. Joe Williams ran for 651 yards and eight touchdowns this season while teammate Brett Wilson ran for 420 yards and five scores. Their starting signal caller, Cory Christopher, led the conference in total offense with 154 yards a game. In the first meeting this season, Williams and Wilson ran for 123 and 120 yards respectively and broke three touchdowns over 60 yards. The Lions ran for 349 yards against the Kats defense.

The Lion's passing game has also been inconsistent at times. They only threw for 68 yards in the first meeting.

Nassau broke three long runs for touchdowns in the first game against a very different ECC defense. The Kats defense was reconfigured after the Nassau game and played much better. They are led by Lowell Robinson, a free safety who also has played linebacker at times. Robinson has already committed to Pittsburgh and led the conference in interceptions with seven. Robinson returned three of those for touchdowns and also led the conference in kickoff and punt return average.

Corey Komertz and Brian Wetzler also will be formidable foes as they were 1-2 on the team in tackles with 68 and 59 respectively. Carmon Wolfe came on in the last five games and recorded 26 of his 32 tackles on the season.

ECC also has two fine cornerbacks in Troy Wallace and Julius Brown, both seniors. Both players finished with four interceptions. Brown led the team in pass breakups with 11.

Outlook - The Lions dropped their regular-season finale to a very good Dean College team last week 18-9 and the Kats also dropped their finale to Georgia Military 51-10 in a non-conference game. Although ECC dropped their last four games of the season, they played very well at times.

The offense accumulated 336 and 233 yards in their last two games and appeared to be coming out of an eight-game slump. The Lions defense has allowed yards this year and if the Kats offense can get on track, there may be a surprise in this game.

The key to the game will be if ECC can avoid the big plays that plagued them the last time two teams played. If the Lions running game gets on track, it could be a long day once again for ECC. ECC is capable of upsetting Nassau .