Trio of pick-six interception returns powers No. 1 East Mississippi to commanding 65-7 home triumph over Northeast.

SCOOBA – East Mississippi Community College's high-octane offense was complemented by three defensive touchdowns on pick-six scores, as the top-ranked Lions cruised to a 65-7 victory over visiting Northeast Mississippi in their MACJC North Division home opener Thursday night at Sullivan-Windham Field.

EMCC's quick-score offensive attack got rolling early by going 65 yards in five plays to reach the end zone for the first time less than two minutes into the contest.  A 29-yard completion to Camion Patrick from quarterback Chad Kelly preceded a 12-yard scoring connection between the pair to put the Lions on the scoreboard.

The score quickly increased to 16-0 midway through the first quarter.  Following a safety when a Northeast punt snap sailed through the end zone, Kelly found DJ Law wide open over the middle on the next play from scrimmage for a 49-yard catch and run at the 8:18 mark.

As EMCC's prolific offense began to heat up en route to a 37-point opening quarter, the Lions' lauded defensive unit also made an early statement by initially contributing to the scoring column.  Sophomore safety Allen Sentimore nabbed a Brett Thompson pass and returned it 29 yards to pay dirt to increase the margin to 23-0 with 6:54 remaining in the half.  Sentimore, last year's NJCAA leader with nine pass interceptions, would strike again in the third quarter with his 11^th career pick and second of the game.

EMCC's defense also directly contributed to the team's next two scores to close out the opening quarter.  First, Justin Lucas' fumble recovery was ultimately cashed in at the 3:14 mark when Kelly hooked up with Kameron Myers on a 4-yard scoring toss for the speedy receiver's team-leading fifth touchdown catch of the season.  The Lions then forced a three-and-out and proceeded to march 80 yards in six plays to run the score to 37-0 on Kelly's 24-yard touchdown pass again to Law.

The Lions' stellar stopper squad set the tone as the second quarter got underway when sophomore linebacker Demetrius Cain corralled a bobbled Thompson aerial around midfield on his way to rumbling for a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown at the 13:01 mark.  The pick-six was the second of the year for Cain, who previously scored on a 21-yard interception return in EMCC's season-opening win at Southwest Mississippi.  The former Hazlehurst High School standout now has five career picks from his linebacker position.

The two teams traded scores as the first half came to a close.  After Todd Mays' first of two touchdown runs on the night made it 51-0 with 2:34 left before intermission, Northeast's only appearance on the scoreboard came on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Joe Horn Jr. with less than a minute remaining in the half.

With the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges' newly implemented 38-point mercy rule in effect for the third time in EMCC's first four games this season, the Lions added solo scores in the third and fourth quarters to account for the final outcome.  Early in the third quarter, sophomore defensive back Quan Latham scored for the second time in as many weeks after blocking and recovering a punt in the end zone last week at Coahoma.  This time against Northeast, the Columbus native picked off another errant Thompson pass and scurried 62 yards for the Lions' third pick-six of the evening.  A year ago, EMCC returned seven of the team's 30 pass interceptions for touchdowns.

To go along with his earlier 13-yard scoring scamper late in the first half, Mays capped the night's scoring exhibition for the Lions with a 22-yard touchdown run at the 13:30 mark of the fourth quarter.

Statistically, EMCC's Kelly registered his third four-touchdown passing effort of the young season by completing 19-of-29 passes for 310 yards.  The sophomore transfer quarterback from Clemson by way of Buffalo, N.Y., did throw his first two interceptions of the year after beginning the season with 110 consecutive passes without a pick.

Starkville's Preston Baker was the Lions' leading rusher with 71 yards on the ground in just five attempts.  On the receiving end, EMCC featured six players with multiple catches in the game led by Myers and Patrick with five and four grabs, respectively.   

Winners of 36 of their last 38 contests dating back to their 2011 national championship season, the EMCC Lions have averaged 62.1 points an outing during their current 16-game winning streak that spans back to the start of last year's national championship campaign.  Through the first four games this year, East Mississippi has outscored the opposition by a collective 246-38 margin.

With seventh-year head coach Buddy Stephens getting his 60^th career win with Thursday's home triumph over Northeast, the 4-0 EMCC Lions head back out on the road to take on division foe Itawamba Community College Thursday (Sept. 25) in Fulton.