Reigning MACCC champion EMCC Lions announce 2023 football schedule

SCOOBA – Featuring five regular-season home games for the first time since 2019, reigning MACCC champion East Mississippi Community College's 2023 football schedule has been announced.

Set to face the same regular-season slate as last year but with the game sites switched for the upcoming football season, the Lions' nine-game 2023 schedule will again consist of contests against all six MACCC North Division foes in addition to including meetings with MACCC South Division opponents Copiah-Lincoln, Jones and Mississippi Gulf Coast.  

After visiting Copiah-Lincoln to kick off the 2023 season against the Wolves on Thursday, Sept. 7, in Wesson, head coach Buddy Stephens' EMCC Lions will then stay at home the rest of the month of September. In playing host to Jones (Sept. 14), Holmes (Sept. 21) and Gulf Coast (Sept. 28) during successive Thursdays, East Mississippi will enjoy its first stretch of three consecutive regular-season home football games since the 2009 season. That year, the Lions hosted the same three teams consecutively in September en route to claiming their first of what has become eight conference (MACJC/MACCC) football championships during the past 14 seasons under Stephens' guidance.

EMCC's month of October will mostly be spent competing on the road, beginning with an MACCC title game rematch with Northwest Mississippi on Thursday, Oct. 5, in Senatobia. With the Lions having posted a 36-28 road victory over the Rangers in last year's MACCC championship contest, EMCC and Northwest have now combined to win 11 of the last 14 conference football titles between them.

The Lions' lone home game of October will mark their Homecoming 2023 contest against Northeast Mississippi on Saturday, Oct. 21. The 2 p.m. contest against the Tigers at Sullivan-Windham Field in Scooba will be sandwiched between Thursday road meetings with Coahoma (Oct. 12) and Itawamba (Oct. 26) in Clarksdale and Fulton, respectively.

East Mississippi's 2023 regular-season football schedule will conclude with an MACCC North Division home contest against Mississippi Delta on Nov. 2.

Featuring the top two teams from each division based on regular-season division play, the 2023 MACCC football playoffs will begin on Saturday, Nov. 11, with semifinal-round action. The MACCC championship game will be played the following Saturday (Nov. 18). 

With a 15-year head coaching record of 133-21 (.864) with the Lions, EMCC's Stephens will enter the upcoming 2023 football season ranked second on the NJCAA's all-time list for career winning percentage among coaches with 100 or more career games coached. Along with ranking fourth among the NJCAA's winningest active head football coaches, Stephens currently ranks 27^th on the NJCAA's all-time wins list and is fifth in Mississippi junior college football history. In addition to the Lions' eight conference titles (2009, '11, '13-14, '16-18 & '22) in the last 14 years, Stephens' EMCC football teams have also captured five national championships (2011, '13-14 & '17-18) and 10 division crowns (2008-09, '11-16, '18 & '21) dating back to the 2008 season.

2023 EMCC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Thurs., Sept. 7 – at Copiah-Lincoln – Wesson – 6:30 p.m.

Thurs., Sept. 14 – JONES – SCOOBA – 7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Sept. 21 – HOLMES* - SCOOBA – 7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Sept. 28 – MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST – SCOOBA – 7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Oct. 5 – at Northwest Mississippi* – Senatobia – 7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Oct. 12 – at Coahoma* – Clarksdale – 6:30 p.m.

Sat., Oct. 21 – NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI (Homecoming)* – SCOOBA – 2:00 p.m.

Thurs., Oct. 26 – at Itawamba* – Fulton – 7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Nov. 2 – MISSISSIPPI DELTA* – SCOOBA – 7:00 p.m.

*-MACCC North Division game