EMCC reclaims No. 1 spot in NJCAA Top 20 football poll; Lion players rack up region and state individual honors

SCOOBA – On the heels of claiming their fourth MACJC State/NJCAA Region 23 football championship in six years, the reigning NJCAA National Champion Lions of East Mississippi Community College have placed a state-high seven players on this year's NJCAA All-Region 23 Football Team, as announced Monday by the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges office headquartered in Jackson.

East Mississippi's individual football honors came on the same day that the Lions reclaimed the nation's top spot in the new NJCAA Top 20 poll after spending two weeks at the runner-up position behind now-No. 2 Iowa Western Community College.  EMCC and the IWCC Reivers, NJCAA champions in 2012 between the Lions' pair of recent national titles, are now expected to meet Sunday, Dec. 7 in Biloxi at Mississippi Bowl VII for the 2014 NJCAA National Football Championship.  Kickoff between the most recent national champions is set for 2 p.m. at Biloxi Indian Stadium.          

In addition to tying Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College for the most all-region football selections in the state of Mississippi this year, the EMCC Lions also earned 11 of the 25 first-team selections on the MACJC's 2014 All-North Division First Team.  For the second year in a row, East Mississippi swept the MACJC North's MVP accolades with quarterback Chad Kelly (Buffalo, N.Y.) and offensive lineman Jamal Danley (Byhalia HS) collecting Most Valuable Back and Most Valuable Lineman laurels, respectively, on offense as well as linebacker Demetrius Cain (Hazlehurst) and defensive lineman Lorenzo Phillips (Port Sulphur, La.) on the defensive side of the ball.

With a seven-year career head coaching record of 67-10 (.870), including a pair of NJCAA national championships (2011 & 2013) and now four MACJC State/NJCAA Region 23 titles (2009, 2011, 2013 & 2014) to his credit, EMCC's Buddy Stephens swept Coach of the Year honors for the region and state for the fourth time.

A total of 12 East Mississippi players garnered all-region and/or all-state recognition this season.  Along with Kelly, Danley, Cain and Phillips doubling as NJCAA All-Region 23 and MACJC All-State First Team honorees for the Lions, EMCC offensive lineman Brandon Hodges (Aberdeen), defensive lineman D.J. Jones (Pelzer, SC) and injured wide receiver Kameron Myers (Charleston) also hauled in region and state honors.

EMCC's division-most 11 selections (four on offense, six on defense and a kicker) to the 2014 MACJC All-State Team were nearly twice as many as any other MACJC North Division member.  Itawamba was second with six recipients followed by Northwest Mississippi with three.

Defensively, the Lions also touted linebacker Justin Lucas (Aberdeen) along with defensive backs Allen Sentimore (Laurel) and Quan Latham (Columbus) as first-team all-state selections within the MACJC's North Division.  EMCC kicker/punter Drew White (Tupelo) also earned first-team accolades, while wide receiver Camion Patrick (Knoxville, Tenn.) made the MACJC's All-State Second Team.               

East Mississippi's seven all-region selections this year give the Lions a state-best total of 34 NJCAA All-Region 23 football recipients during Stephens' seven-year head coaching stint in Scooba.  Mississippi Gulf Coast is next with 33 all-region mentions dating back to the 2008 campaign.

Additionally, Copiah-Lincoln wide receiver Donald Gray was voted the NJCAA Region 23 MVP as well as the MACJC South Division Offensive Back MVP, while Co-Lin's Glenn Davis earned MACJC South Division Coach of the Year plaudits.  The other MACJC South Division individual accolades went to the Mississippi Gulf Coast trio of Martinas Rankin (Offensive Line MVP), Maurice Swain (Defensive Line MVP) and Tony Bridges (Defensive Back MVP).