| No. 20 EMCC Lions host Coahoma in key North Division matchup during Homecoming festivities Saturday |
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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.
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 03 October 2008 ) |
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