No. 11 EMCC Lions take 2-0 mark into MACCC North opener at Mississippi Delta

SCOOBA – Entering the NJCAA's Division I football rankings this week at No. 11, the 2-0 Lions of East Mississippi Community College step into MACCC North Division play this week by taking on the 2-0 Mississippi Delta Community College Trojans Thursday evening in Moorhead.  Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Jim Randall Stadium on the MDCC campus.

Having now been ranked in 89.6 percent (121 of 135) of the NJCAA's weekly football polls during Coach Buddy Stephens' 13-plus years (excluding last year's opt-out season because of the coronavirus pandemic) at the EMCC helm, the Lions kicked off the current campaign with decisive wins versus East Central (32-7 in Scooba) and on the road against Southwest Mississippi (49-7).  A week ago in Summit, EMCC compiled nearly 500 yards of total offense against the Bears, while also holding the opposition to just a single score for the second straight week.

Leading the way for the Lions during their 42-point road win over Southwest, sophomore quarterback Jamari Jones completed 29-of-46 passes for 347 yards and five touchdowns.  The former Northwest Rankin High School standout also had six rushing attempts for 32 net yards without being sacked in the contest.  In addition, Jones completed passes to 10 different receivers on the night, including touchdown throws to four players.

Starkville's Joshua Aka was Jones' most frequent target last week at Southwest with nine receptions for 72 total yards.  Zach Patterson (Corinth) followed with five catches for 85 yards, including a 67-yard catch-and-run for a fourth-quarter score.  Jontarius Henderson (Laurel) added four grabs for the winners.

On the ground a week ago for EMCC, Arkansas transfer Montae Spivey and sophomore Zias Perryman (Laurel) combined for 106 rushing yards on 14 total attempts between them.  Spivey had 65 yards on eight carries, while Perryman rushed for two scores and had 41 yards on six runs.  

During the course of their second consecutive stellar defensive team effort, the Lions registered 10 total tackles behind the line of scrimmage against the Bears with half of those hits resulting in quarterback sacks.  Defensive lineman Tait Deer (McComb) paced EMCC's defensive unit with 10 stops at Southwest, including four tackles for loss and 1.5 QB sacks.  Syracuse transfer Lee Kpogba followed with nine tackles from his linebacker position.

Guided by first-year head football coach and former MDCC defensive back Cedric Thomas, Mississippi Delta is off to a 2-0 start this season after posting a 31-6 season-opening road win over Pearl River and then claiming a 16-14 home victory over East Central last week.

The EMCC Lions are unbeaten in a dozen prior meetings against Mississippi Delta during the Stephens era (since 2008), including 6-0 marks over the Trojans in both Moorhead and Scooba.  Most recently, East Mississippi claimed a 41-23 road win over Delta during the 2019 season. 

Thursday's EMCC-Mississippi Delta contest will be available via live-stream at youtube.com/c/MDCCTrojans.  The game will also be broadcast live by WFCA-FM (107.9), out of French Camp, with Jason Crowder and Glen Beard slated to provide the play-by-play and color commentary, respectively.  The audio stream of the radio broadcast will be available online at www.wfca.fm along with being carried by SuperTalk Mississippi (WZKR-FM 103.3), out of Meridian, and through EMCC's campus radio station, WGTC-FM (92.7), originating from the Golden Triangle campus in Mayhew.