No. 15 EMCC Lions to host Holmes in regular-season finale with MACCC football playoff implications

SCOOBA – Owners of a four-game winning streak and with an MACCC playoff berth on the line, the 15^th-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College are set to play host to the Holmes Bulldogs in Thursday's regular-season finale. Kickoff for the key MACCC North Division contest is set for 7 p.m. at Sullivan-Windham Field on the Scooba campus.

With a win over Holmes, the EMCC Lions (6-2, 4-1 MACCC North) will earn their 15^th conference playoff appearance during the Buddy Stephens coaching era. The outcome of Thursday's Northwest Mississippi-Itawamba contest in Senatobia would then determine whether EMCC would play its semifinal game against an MACCC South Division opponent at home or on the road on Saturday, Nov. 8. According to the conference's tiebreaker criteria, an EMCC win over Holmes (3-5, 3-2 MACCC North) and a Northwest (7-1, 4-1 MACCC North) victory over Itawamba (5-3, 4-1 MACCC North) would give the Lions the No. 1 seed in the MACCC's North Division by virtue of their 34-28 home win over the Rangers on Sept. 11 in Scooba. An EMCC victory and an ICC win, however, would send the Lions on the road to begin next week's conference playoffs as the MACCC North's No. 2 seed by virtue of the Indians' 34-24 home win over EMCC on Sept. 18 in Fulton.

Thursday's EMCC-Holmes division matchup will also feature a halftime recognition of the six newest members of EMCC's Sports Hall of Fame, which consists of Leon Berry (football), Tristan Martin (rodeo), Rod Moore (football), Jeff Perkins (baseball), the late Larry Salter (long-time football PA announcer & EMCC staffer), and Weston Wallace (golf).

Averaging 205.4 passing yards and 207.8 rushing yards per game on the year as a team, East Mississippi's balanced offensive attack is directed by freshman quarterback Trey Irving III out of Gautier High School. The 2024 MHSAA Class 5A Mr. Football recipient has completed 67 percent (65-of-97) of his passes for 703 total passing yards and is averaging 8.3 rushing yards per attempt and 88.8 yards on the ground per game since making his collegiate debut in a starting role during Week 5 at Coahoma. In addition, Irving is averaging 264.6 yards of total offense (175.8 passing yds/gm) per contest and is responsible for eight total touchdowns (4 rush & 4 pass) through his first four collegiate outings.

On the ground, the Lions continue to be powered by two-time NJCAA Division I and MACCC Offensive Player of the Week Gavin Griffin, who lengthened his national lead to 16 rushing touchdowns on the year after running for two more scores during last week's 28-13 road win over Mississippi Delta. The 2023 MHSAA Class 1A Mr. Football out of Velma Jackson High School currently sits third among this year's NJCAA Division I leaders with an average of 116.5 rushing yards per game behind Martavious Boswell of Copiah-Lincoln (120.8 ypg) and Butler's Markellus Bass (130.8 ypg). Griffin needs 68 more rushing yards to become the fourth EMCC player during the Stephens coaching era to reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark in a season, joining Deon McIntosh (1,150 in 2018), Rod Moore (1,303 in 2011) and Lakenderic Thomas (1,334 in 2013).    

The Lions' top pass receiver on the year continues to be Ole Miss bounce-back Noreel White, who currently ranks third in the MACCC with 45 catches for 478 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Jacksonville State bounce-back Christian Thomas follows with 37 pass receptions (426 yards) for the season to rank tied for fifth in the conference.

Defensively for the Lions, freshman linebacker Ja'Cari Owens and sophomore defensive back Donald Passmore III co-lead the team with 49 total tackles apiece for the season.

Despite narrowly missing last year's MACCC football playoffs, Stephens' EMCC Lions have participated in 14 conference playoffs with an 18-5 composite record and nine championships during Stephens' 17 prior seasons at the EMCC helm. Last year marked only the third time that the Stephens-led Lions did not participate in postseason gridiron action. Previously, East Mississippi opted out of the 2020 football season due to health concerns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The 2015 EMCC squad was ruled ineligible to participate in the conference playoffs following an on-field altercation that occurred late in the first half of the team's 48-0 win at Mississippi Delta in the regular-season finale and ultimately resulted in a two-game suspension for the entire team.

This year's assured winning overall record by EMCC has extended the Lions' current streak to 17 consecutive non-losing football seasons under Stephens' guidance, who was announced the day following last year's EMCC-Holmes game as the Class of 2024 inductee into the NJCAA Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Currently 6-2 overall and 4-1 in MACCC North Division play after finishing last season with a 5-4 overall record and 4-2 division mark, the Lions will have now gone at least 4-2 within the division every season in which they've played since Stephens' first season as head coach in 2008, and only once during the Stephens era (5-5 in 2010) have they not had a winning overall record on the gridiron.

Guided by fourth-year head football coach Marcus Wood, who played football at EMCC as well as having previously served as an assistant football coach (offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach) and college administrator on the Scooba campus, Holmes currently owns an overall record of 3-5 with all three wins (Coahoma, Northeast Mississippi & Mississippi Delta) having come against MACCC North Division foes.

Wood's Holmes coaching staff also has some East Mississippi connections. Defensive coordinator/linebackers coach C.J. Johnson previously served on Stephens' EMCC coaching staff, while current Holmes quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator De'Andre Johnson and offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Kameron Myers both played for the Lions under Stephens' guidance.

With career coaching marks of 154-30 overall (.837) and 90-11 (.891) in MACCC North Division contests during his 18 seasons as EMCC's head football coach, Stephens owns a 15-1 career record (8-0 in Scooba; 6-1 in Goodman & 1-0 in Ridgeland) against Holmes through the years. Last season at rain-plagued Ras Branch Stadium in Goodman on Halloween afternoon, the EMCC Lions closed out their 2024 season in strong fashion with an emphatic 51-15 road win over then-No. 8 Holmes. Two years ago in Scooba (Sept. 21, 2023), the home-standing Lions produced their highest point total since their 2017 national championship season with a decisive 65-17 triumph over Holmes. The game was highlighted by six touchdown passes thrown by eventual NJCAA Division I Offensive Player of the Year Ty Keyes as well as pick-sixes by defensive backs Shannon Blair and Bakari McCall. Three seasons ago (Sept. 15, 2022) in the first head-to-head coaching meeting between Stephens and Wood, the visiting Lions claimed a 45-9 victory over the Bulldogs in a game played at Ridgeland High School.

Thursday's EMCC-Holmes contest will 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. Jay Perry is also set to handle sideline reporting duties. The game's live-streamed audio will also be carried by EMCC's campus radio station, WGTC-FM (92.7), originating from the Golden Triangle campus in Mayhew. Along with EMCC's weekly live video-streamed football broadcasts being available in HD at emcclive.com, alternate audio streams of the Lions' radio broadcasts throughout the football season will also be accessible via wfca.fm.