The Mississippi Ironhorse should be 4-1 — the key word being “should.”
With nearly half the season complete, the Ironhorse have let several games slip away this season leading to their 2-3 record.
One of those was a 21-20 loss in the final seconds at the Tri-County Heroes in Brookhaven to open the season.
The Ironhorse and the Heroes meet again Saturday at 7 p.m. at South Pike.
“The season has gone well,” Ironhorse general manager Chris Dillon said. “But the games we have lost have been nail-biters. We didn’t capitalize on some things ... we should be actually 4-1 right now.”
Besides the loss to the Heroes (3-3), the Ironhorse have dropped contests to the Louisiana Vipers and Mississippi Raiders and notched two wins against the Emerald Coast Scorpions.
In the first meeting with the Heroes, former Alabama and Brookhaven High School standout Jimmy Johns threw the game-winning touchdown pass with 25 seconds left.
“I’m figuring its going to go to the wire again, especially when these two teams play,” Dillon said.
A pep rally will be held at 1:30 p.m. prior to the game at McComb High School. The Saintsations, the official cheerleaders for the New Orleans Saints, will provide entertainment at the rally. The TNT youth cheerleaders will provide halftime entertainment.
The Ironhorse are in their third season as a semi-pro football team. Dillon said he fully expects his team to finish the year strong.
“We are halfway through the season and now the teams we played before are coming back around,” he said. “Those same teams that we had tough breaks we can prove we are the better team. We just need to eliminate some of our mistakes.”
Dillon said he has been impressed with several key contributors so far, including Mario Addison and Jasper Gatlin. Addison leads the team in receiving yards and total offense and Gatlin has managed success at running back.
The defense, which has always been an Ironhorse staple, is strong again this season.
Leading the way for the Ironhorse is Anthony Butler at defensive line, Quartez Ashmore at linebacker and defensive back Akeem Williams.
