By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Aug. 25, 2002
DECATUR Despite minimal interest in the sport in its five-county district, East Central Community College has steadily made progress in soccer in its first three years of competition.
The only high schools in ECCC's district to field teams in the sport are Neshoba Central, Newton County, and Philadelphia.
From the Warriors' recruiting district on the 2002 ECCC roster are Mark Walker, Johnathan Shoemaker, and John May of Newton County; Kyle Miller of Neshoba Central, and Robbie Phillipson of Morton.
That group includes Brandon Ditto, Chuck Holmes, and Justin Sendelweck of Brandon; John Theobald and Beau Theobald of Vicksburg St. Aloysius, and Ricky Archuleta of Richland.
Other non-district players are Corey Kemp and Nate Alexander of Corinth, Chris Stevens and Jay Jacobs of Northeast Lauderdale, Charles Goodwin of Raleigh, and Seltue Karweaye of Liberia, West Africa.
Karweaye and Ditto both made honorable mention all-state as freshmen. Karweaye was eighth in the state in scoring in 2001.
Ditto was 15th in the state in scoring as a freshman.
The 2001 Warriors were 6-8-1 overall. ECCC was the only team to take three-time defending South half champion Gulf Coast to overtime last year and the Warriors accomplished that feat twice.