Third-ranked EMCC Lions head to No. 12 Northeast Mississippi for Saturday's battle of unbeatens
In a Saturday showdown between the lone remaining undefeated teams in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges, the third-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College venture to Booneville to take on 12th-ranked Northeast Mississippi Community College.
SCOOBA – In a Saturday showdown between the lone remaining undefeated teams in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges, the third-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College venture to Booneville to take on 12th-ranked Northeast Mississippi Community College. Saturday's homecoming contest on the Northeast campus is set for a 3 p.m. kickoff at Tiger Stadium.
With both teams entering the weekend at 5-0 overall and 3-0 within the division, Saturday's meeting will play a major role in determining the eventual makeup of the MACJC's North Division standings. Both EMCC and Northeast have already won at defending division champion Northwest Mississippi this season, while the remaining four division foes have combined for only two division wins between them entering Thursday's action.
As an added incentive to this year's MACJC North Division race, the regular-season champion on the north side will earn the right to host at least an opening-round game in next month's MACJC state football playoffs. With the top two teams from each division advancing to postseason play, the state semifinals will be held on Saturday, Nov. 5, followed by the MACJC state championship game a week later on Saturday, Nov. 12.
The video stream of Saturday's marquee MACJC matchup between the EMCC Lions and Northeast Tigers will be available at www.njcaatv.ihigh.com. The contest will also be broadcast live by WFCA-FM radio – 107.9 out of French Camp – with Jason Crowder and Glen Beard calling the play-by-play action and John Lyle Briggs slated to handle the Lions' sideline reporting duties. The live broadcast can also be heard online via EMCC's athletics website – http://athletics.eastms.edu – or by logging onto www.wfcafm108.com.
Saturday's EMCC-Northeast gridiron battle will pit one of the nation's most potent offensive attacks against the most stubborn scoring defense in the 14-team MACJC this season. Triggered by standout freshman quarterback Bo Wallace, ranked second nationally in both passing and total offense, head coach Buddy Stephens' EMCC Lions are averaging 40.6 points per game on the year after outscoring their most recent opposition by a combined margin of 104-13 (56-6 over Coahoma and 48-7 over Itawamba). In contrast, the Northeast Tigers have surrendered a state-best total of only 67 points in their five victories to date on the year.
Offensively, East Mississippi ranks second nationally in team total offense (522.4 yards per game) as well as team passing offense (369.6 yds/gm). On the flip side, the Northeast defensive unit presently stands third in the MACJC in team total defense in allowing an average of 256.2 yards an outing. After picking off six Northwest passes last week, the Tiger defenders also share the state lead (with Copiah-Lincoln) with 13 pass interceptions this season.
East Mississippi's road-heavy October slate continues a week from Saturday (Oct. 15), as the Lions travel to Poplarville to meet the Wildcats of Pearl River Community College in a 3 p.m. non-divisional contest. Homecoming festivities on the Scooba campus will bring the Lions back to the friendly confines of Sullivan-Windham Field for a 2 p.m. kickoff against Mississippi Delta on Saturday, Oct. 22. EMCC will wrap up the regular season at Holmes CC on Thursday, Oct. 27.