 The 16th-ranked EMCC Lions travel to Northeast Mississippi Thursday looking to maintain their lead atop the MACJC North Division football standings.
Thursday’s EMCC-Northeast broadcast can be heard on WFCA-FM (107.9) – the Voice of French Camp Academy – with Jason Crowder calling the play-by-play action. The radio broadcast can also be accessed via audio streaming through EMCC’s athletics website – athletics.eastms.edu.
Winners of four straight games for the first time in 10 years, the Lions are 5-1 overall and 3-0 in division play after claiming a convincing 47-20 Homecoming triumph over Coahoma this past Saturday. EMCC is off to its best start since opening the 1974 campaign with five consecutive wins en route to posting an 8-2 record. Assured of their first winning regular season since 1998, the Lions moved up four notches to 16th nationally in this week’s NJCAA/JC Football.com Top 20 poll.
Headlined by freshman quarterback Randall Mackey of Port Sulphur, La. – the nation’s statistical leader in passing yards (268.7 yards per game) and total offense (318 yds/gm) – East Mississippi as a team ranks No. 1 nationally in passing offense (288.7 yards per game) and second in total offense (463.2 yds/gm) behind Ellsworth Community College. Defensively, the Lions stand seventh among the NJCAA team leaders in passing defense while allowing 117 passing yards an outing on the year.
Individually, EMCC boasts four players ranked among the top 13 MACJC statistical leaders in receiving yards per game. Starkville’s Mike Outlaw leads the Lions with 27 catches on the year for an average of 61.5 receiving yards per contest, followed by Montrez Mosley of Meridian with 24 grabs for 360 yards (60 yds/gm). Georgia natives Leon Berry (Griffin) and Wayne Bonner (Milledgeville) have hauled in 21 and 18 passes, respectively, for 292 and 359 yards. Bonner tops EMCC’s receiving corps with five touchdown catches and in yards per reception (19.9). Freshman Phillip Dimino of West Point stands second among the league’s top scoring kickers with 30 points on three field goals and 21 successful points-after-touchdown, while Starkville freshman running back Pat Shed is third in scoring by non-kickers with nine total touchdowns (8 rushing & 1 receiving) for the season.
On the defensive side of the ball, freshman defensive end Claude Davis of Lakeland, Fla., is tied for second in the MACJC with seven sacks, while fellow Floridian Jamar Hornsby of Jacksonville – this week’s NJCAA Defensive Player of the Week - ranks second in total tackles with 42 solos and 26 assists.
Guided by head coach Ricky Smither, Northeast Mississippi is still looking for its first victory of the season. Having most recently dropped a 38-7 Homecoming decision to East Central last week, the Tigers are 0-6 overall and 0-3 in North Division play.
East Mississippi has prevailed in the last two series meetings with Northeast Mississippi, having claimed a 31-27 home victory over the Tigers last year in Scooba and winning in Booneville, 25-8, two seasons ago.
Bidding for their first state playoff appearance since 1984, coach Buddy Stephens’ EMCC Lions will play host to Itawamba at West Point High School on Saturday, Oct. 18. Kickoff for the EMCC-ICC game in West Point is set for 1 p.m. Along with East Mississippi scheduled to don Mossy Oak camouflage jerseys for next week’s contest, pre-game activities slated for the West Point contest will include a swearing in of 30-35 Air Force recruits plus a planned flyover of T-38 Talon jets courtesy of Columbus Air Force Base and the United States Air Force. A United States Army ROTC cannon will also be on hand to sound off following all EMCC scores during the game. An EMCC recruiting station and hospitality tent will also be available prior to the West Point contest and throughout the game.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 October 2008 )
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 EMCC sophomore free safety Jamar Hornsby has earned NJCAA Defensive Player of the Week honors following his 16-tackle performance in the Lions’ 47-20 Homecoming win over Coahoma.
A product of Jacksonville’s Sandalwood High School in Florida, Hornsby was credited with a team-high nine solo tackles and seven assists against Coahoma, along with picking off his second interception of the year and totaling three pass breakups on the day. His 45-yard interception return to the opponent’s 5-yard line in the second quarter helped spark a 27-0 run by the Lions over a five-minute span which led to a 40-13 halftime advantage.
During the key North Division contest against Coahoma, East Mississippi helped limit the MACJC’s top rushing team to 140 yards below their per-game average coming into the contest. In addition to holding Coahoma to 167 yards on the ground, the Lions’ nationally ranked pass defense gave up just 74 yards through the air to the Tigers.
A transfer from the University of Florida, Hornsby ranks second in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges with 68 total tackles (42 solos and 26 assists) on the year. Along with his two interceptions, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound sophomore has also been credited with six pass breakups, two caused fumbles and one fumble recovery for the season.
Hornsby’s national honor marks the second time this season that East Mississippi has been accorded NJCAA Player of the Week laurels in football. Freshman quarterback Randall Mackey of Port Sulphur, La., was previously selected the NJCAA’s Offensive Player of the Week following the Lions’ 27-23 comeback road win over then-No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast on Sept. 18.
Coach Buddy Stephens’ 16th-ranked EMCC Lions, 5-1 overall and 3-0 in division play, take on the Tigers of Northeast Mississippi Thursday evening at Keenum Stadium in Booneville looking to maintain their lead atop the MACJC’s North Division standings.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 October 2008 )
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.jpg "Image") Pat Shed ran for 84 yards and raised his season rushing touchdown total to eight with three scoring runs in 20th-ranked EMCC’s 47-20 Homecoming win over Coahoma Saturday afternoon at Sullivan-Windham Field.
The 27-point victory over Coahoma extended the Lions’ winning streak to four consecutive games on the year and improved their record to 5-1 overall and a division-leading 3-0 in the North. Saturday’s triumph over Coahoma, now 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the division, gave EMCC its longest winning streak since compiling a four-game win string during the 1998 season. In addition, the win over Coahoma assures East Mississippi of the school’s first winning regular season since going 6-4 in 1998 under the guidance of former head coach Tom Goode.
The Lions struck early by capping a four-play drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Randall Mackey to Wayne Bonner barely a minute into the contest. Bonner’s team-leading fifth scoring grab of the year made it 6-0 after Phillip Dimino failed to convert the point-after-touchdown attempt. Coahoma answered with a 2-yard scoring run by conference rushing leader Timothy Graham at the 8:35 mark. David Gallagher missed his PAT try to make it 6-6 midway through the opening period. EMCC came right back with a mixture of pass plays and runs to move the ball 66 yards on 10 plays, capped by a 2-yard scoring burst by Starkville’s Pat Shed. Dimino’s PAT put the Lions back on top, 13-6, with 6:12 remaining in the quarter. Once again, the visiting Tigers had the answer as Katral James scored from 3 yards out and Gallagher connected on the PAT to deadlock the score, 13-13, with 13:29 left in the half.
Following a scoreless six minutes of action, sophomore free safety Jamar Hornsby ignited East Mississippi’s offensive explosion by picking off Marvin Pittman’s pass and returning it 45 yards to the 5-yard line. Mackey found Starkville sophomore Mike Outlaw from 6 yards out for his fourth touchdown catch of the season to make it 20-13 after the extra point with 7:48 remaining. After Coahoma went three-and-out on its next possession, the Lions needed just two plays to go 54 yards for another score as Shed bounced out left and broke tackles on his way to a 39-yard touchdown scamper at the 5:22 mark. The floodgates began to open a minute later when Shed and reserve defensive back Chris McFarland of West Point teamed up to block Gallagher’s punt attempt deep in Coahoma territory. Columbus’ Alvin Ellis recovered the blocked punt in the end zone to put EMCC up, 33-13, at the 4:17 mark. The Lions all but put the game out of reach less than two minutes later when sophomore Leon Berry hauled in Mackey’s aerial on the first play of their ensuing possession and bolted 54 yards to pay dirt to put the home team comfortably on top, 40-13, heading into intermission.
Shed capped an 11-carry, 84-yard rushing effort by pounding across his eighth rushing touchdown of the year from a yard out to stake EMCC to an insurmountable 47-13 cushion with 5:02 left in the third quarter. Coahoma managed to tally the final points of the afternoon on an 8-yard touchdown pass from reserve signal-caller Keondrick Brown to Warren Taylor at the 9:34 mark of the fourth quarter.
A 2007 PARADE All-American out of Bastrop (La.) High School, Mackey completed 17-of-26 passes on the day for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns. The nation’s statistical leader in both passing and total offense, Mackey now has a dozen scoring strikes on the campaign. Seven EMCC players were on the receiving end of Mackey aerials on Saturday, led by Outlaw with four catches for 48 yards. Bonner, Berry and Meridian’s Montrez Mosley each had three receptions on the day.
Aiming for their first state playoff appearance since 1984, coach Buddy Stephens’ East Mississippi Lions venture to Booneville to meet the Northeast Mississippi Tigers on Thursday, Oct. 9. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Keenum Stadium. EMCC rounds out the regular season by playing host to Itawamba at West Point High School on Saturday, Oct. 18, and then heading to Moorhead a week later to meet the Trojans of Mississippi Delta on Saturday, Oct. 25.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 04 October 2008 )
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.jpg "Image") Rewarded with their first national ranking in a dozen years, the 20th-ranked EMCC Lions play host to Coahoma Saturday afternoon during Homecoming festivities at Sullivan-Windham-Field.
Saturday’s EMCC-Coahoma broadcast can be heard on WFCA-FM (107.9) – the Voice of French Camp Academy – with Jonathan Holmes calling the play-by-play action. The radio broadcast can also be accessed via audio streaming through EMCC’s athletics website – athletics.eastms.edu.
In addition to the halftime presentation of EMCC’s 2008 Homecoming Court and the crowning of this year’s Homecoming Queen, East Mississippi will recognize the school’s Alumnus of the Year Jerry Boatner and Distinguished Service Award winner Cecil Vaughan at halftime. This year’s 10-man EMCC Sports Hall of Fame inductee class will be recognized on the field Saturday during pre-game ceremonies, along with being honored during a Friday evening reception and banquet on the EMCC campus.
Riding a current three-game winning streak, coach Buddy Stephens’ 4-1 Lions moved into a first-place tie with Coahoma in the North Division by virtue of last Thursday’s 27-19 home triumph over divisional foe Northwest Mississippi. Ranked in the NJCAA/JCFootball.com Top 20 poll for the first time since 1996, East Mississippi is off to the school’s best start since opening the 1974 campaign with five straight wins on the way to an 8-2 record under the guidance of head coach Bill Buckner. As a team with freshman quarterback Randall Mackey at the controls, the Lions statistically rank second nationally in passing offense (287 yards per game) and total offense (446.6 yards per game). Defensively, EMCC stands 12th nationally and second in the MACJC team rankings behind Pearl River in team passing defense (125.6 yards per game).
Individually, Mackey of Port Sulphur, La., tops the NJCAA statistical leaders in passing (263 yards per game) and total offense (318.8 yards per game). The 2007 PARADE All-American from Bastrop (La.) High School has completed 97-of-163 passes (59.5%) for 1,315 yards and nine touchdowns on the year, while also having rushed 43 times for 279 yards and three scores.
The Lions feature five receivers with 14 or more catches for the season, including Starkville’s Mike Outlaw and Montrez Mosley of Meridian with 23 and 21 receptions, respectively, for 645 yards between them. On the ground, former Starkville High School standout Pat Shed rates fourth among the MACJC leaders in rushing (81.8 yards per game) and scoring by non-kickers (7.2 points per game).
Guided by head coach Freeman Horton, the Coahoma Tigers are 3-1 overall and 2-0 in division play after falling from the ranks of the unbeaten with last week’s 17-7 road setback to Copiah-Lincoln. Powered by the league’s top rusher in freshman Timothy Graham (127.2 yards per game) and directed by two-time MACJC/Region 23 Offensive Player of the Week Marvin Pittman from his quarterback position, the Tigers rank as the state’s top rushing team with an average of 307.8 yards on the ground per game. Conversely, EMCC presently rates last in the state in rushing defense while allowing 246 yards an outing via the run.
East Mississippi owns a commanding 31-1 all-time series advantage over Coahoma Community College since the Tigers joined the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges in 1976, including a current streak of 13 consecutive series wins over Coahoma dating back to 1995. The Lions’ lone setback to Coahoma through the years was a 40-14 road loss during the 1994 season. EMCC had prevailed in the 18 prior series meetings between the two teams spanning the 1976 and 1993 campaigns.
Saturday’s gridiron battle with Coahoma marks EMCC’s final regular-season game in Scooba of the 2008 season. Following next Thursday’s (Oct. 9) divisional road contest against Northeast Mississippi, the Lions will play host to Itawamba at West Point High School on Saturday, Oct. 18. Bidding for its first state playoff appearance since 1984, East Mississippi closes out the regular season at Mississippi Delta on Saturday, Oct. 25.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 03 October 2008 )
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 Coach Buddy Stephens’ 20th-ranked Lions play host to North Division foe Coahoma during Saturday’s Homecoming festivities on the EMCC campus.
Headed by Navarro College of Texas and Utah’s Snow College, this week’s NJCAA/JCFootball.com Top 20 features five Mississippi schools. Along with EMCC’s No. 20 ranking with 11 points, the current national poll also showcases third-ranked Jones County at No. 3, seventh-ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast, No. 10-ranked Pearl River and Mississippi Delta at 19th.
Preparing for Saturday’s key divisional Homecoming contest against the Coahoma Tigers, EMCC is 4-1 overall and 2-0 in North Division play, while riding a three-game winning streak after last week’s 27-19 home triumph over Northwest Mississippi. Coahoma enters Saturday’s 2 p.m. contest at Sullivan-Windham Field tied with EMCC atop the North standings at 2-0 and 3-1 overall on the year.
Bidding for their first winning season since 1998, the Lions began their current three-game win string by claiming a convincing 52-14 road win over Holmes on Sept. 11. EMCC followed up with a dramatic 27-23 comeback road victory over defending national co-champion Mississippi Gulf Coast two weeks ago in Perkinston. East Mississippi’s lone setback on the year came by way of a hard-fought 23-19 loss at now-No. 3 Jones County during the second week of the season.
As a team with freshman quarterback Randall Mackey at the controls, the Lions statistically rank second nationally in passing offense (287 yards per game) and total offense (446.6 yards per game). Defensively, EMCC stands 12th nationally and second in the MACJC team rankings behind Pearl River in team passing defense (125.6 yards per game).
Individually, Mackey of Port Sulphur, La., tops the NJCAA statistical leaders in passing (263 yards per game) and total offense (318.8 yards per game). The 2007 PARADE All-American from Bastrop (La.) High School has completed 97-of-163 passes (59.5%) for 1,315 yards and nine touchdowns on the year, while also having rushed 43 times for 279 yards and three scores.
The Lions feature five receivers with 14 or more catches for the season, including Starkville’s Mike Outlaw and Montrez Mosley of Meridian with 23 and 21 receptions, respectively, for 645 yards between them. On the ground, former Starkville High School standout Pat Shed rates fourth among the MACJC leaders in rushing (81.8 yards per game) and scoring by non-kickers (7.2 points per game).
Also rated 23rd nationally in this week’s J.C. Grid-Wire team rankings, East Mississippi is currently ranked nationally in football for the first time since being listed at No. 15 in the Nov. 12, 1996 national poll by the NJCAA. Coach Tom Goode’s 1996 EMCC club finished 8-2 on the season, but did not qualify for the state playoffs and was not ranked in the season-ending poll.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 30 September 2008 )
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