No. 3 EMCC bids to make school history at Holmes by securing an undefeated regular season

SCOOBA – East Mississippi Community College looks to secure the school's first-ever undefeated regular season in football competition Thursday night in Goodman, as the third-ranked Lions hit the road to take on division foe Holmes Community College in their regular-season finale.  Kickoff at Ras Branch Field is set for 7 p.m. on the Holmes campus.

Thursday's EMCC-Holmes contest will be broadcast live on WFCA-FM Radio, 107.9 out of French Camp, with Jason Crowder and Glen Beard calling the play-by-play action along with John Lyle Briggs handling the sideline reporting duties.  The game's live audio-streamed broadcast can be heard via EMCC's athletics website - http://athletics.eastms.edu – or by logging onto www.wfcafm108.com.  The live video-streamed broadcast is also slated to be available at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bulldogs-football-2011.

Having secured a fourth consecutive state playoff appearance with their third MACJC North Division regular-season title in four years, head coach Buddy Stephens' 8-0 EMCC Lions will begin this year's state playoffs by playing host to the No. 2 seed in the MACJC's South Division on Saturday, Nov. 5, in Scooba (2 p.m. kickoff).  The South Division's seeds will be determined this Saturday in Perkinston when seventh-ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast (7-1, 5-0) plays host to No. 10 Hinds (7-1, 5-0).  The winner of Saturday's Gulf Coast-Hinds game will earn the south's top seed and play host to the No. 2-seeded team from the MACJC's North Division on Nov. 5.

Ranked third nationally in the NJCAA's Top 20 national poll for the fourth straight week, East Mississippi received 127 voting points this week, including one first-place vote, to stand behind top-ranked Blinn College (Texas) and Arizona Western College.  Blinn and AWC picked up 136 and 134 voting points, respectively, this week, including four and two first-place votes.

Among East Mississippi's eight victories to date are five wins coming against teams that are either still ranked nationally or have been ranked at some point during the season, including currently ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast (#7), Hinds (#10) and Northeast Mississippi (#18).  The Lions have an opportunity to possibly face two more ranked opponents during the upcoming state playoffs to further strengthen their resume for a possible shot at this year's national championship.

Averaging 45.1 points per game on the season, including three outings with 54 or more points over the last four weeks, the EMCC Lions continue to top all NJCAA teams in passing offense and total offense with per-game averages of 379.3 passing yards and 533 yards of total offense for the season.  NJCAA All-America quarterback candidate Bo Wallace (Pulaski, Tenn.) leads the nation with 32 touchdown passes thrown and ranks second nationally in passing yardage (2,967) on 217-of-323 (67%) accuracy through the air.

Defensively for EMCC, highly touted Denico Autry (Albemarle, N.C.) tops the Lions' defensive unit with 55 total tackles (33 solos & 22 assists) from his defensive end position.  Rated as one of the top two junior college prospects in the country by both Scout.com and Rivals.com, Autry has been credited with nine tackles for loss and four sacks as well as 32 quarterback hurries on the year.  As a unit, the Lions most recently recorded their first shutout victory of the season with a 54-0 homecoming blanking of Mississippi Delta this past Saturday in Scooba.

Guided by first-year head coach Jeff Koonz, the Bulldogs of Holmes Community College are 2-6 overall on the year with both of those victories coming in divisional play (Coahoma and Mississippi Delta) this season.  Most recently, Holmes dropped a 66-41 road decision to Northwest Mississippi this past Saturday in Senatobia.  Despite allowing 66 points this past week, the Bulldogs continue to lead the MACJC in passing defense by allowing the opposition an average of only 129.1 passing yards per outing.  In contrast, Holmes is ranked last in the state by giving up an average of 257 rushing yards per contest for the season.

East Mississippi has prevailed over Holmes in each of the past five gridiron meetings between the two teams, including home triumphs over the Bulldogs both last season (38-14) and two years ago (41-14).  In Stephens' first season (2008) at the EMCC helm, the Lions claimed a 52-14 road victory over Holmes in Goodman.