Full-strength No. 12 EMCC Lions look to bounce back Thursday at No. 17 Mississippi Gulf Coast

SCOOBA – With both preseason top-5 MACJC football powers looking to bounce back from season-opening road losses, the 12th-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College travel to Perkinston to take on No. 17 Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Thursday evening.  Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at newly renovated A.L. May Memorial Stadium.    

Despite dressing out only 32 players during last Thursday's season opener at Jones County while serving the second game of a two-game suspension for last year's season-ending, on-the-field altercation at Mississippi Delta, head coach Buddy Stephens' undermanned, preseason No. 1 EMCC squad played valiantly before dropping a hard-fought 27-25 decision to the JCJC Bobcats.  Ranked fourth nationally in the NJCAA's preseason Top 20, the MGCCC Bulldogs lost, 23-12, at Itawamba in their season opener.

Falling for only the 12^th time in 88 career decisions during Stephens' eight-plus seasons at the EMCC helm, the Lions are looking to avoid back-to-back setbacks for the first time since dropping their 2012 regular-season finale at Itawamba (24-23) followed by a 47-46 home loss to Copiah-Lincoln in the MACJC state semifinals.  The only other previous time EMCC endured consecutive losses under Stephens' guidance came with a 0-3 start during the Lions' 5-5 campaign in 2010.

Thursday's highly anticipated matchup between the Lions and Bulldogs, who have combined to claim seven of the last nine MACJC state football championships dating back to 2007, figures to mark the EMCC playing debut of Florida State transfer quarterback De'Andre Johnson.  From First Coast High School in Jacksonville, Fla., Johnson threw for 3,710 yards and 47 touchdowns as a senior to earn Florida's 2014 Class 8A Player of the Year honor and receive an invitation to participate in the Under Armour All-America Game.  Rated as a four-star prospect and the nation's No. 7 dual-threat quarterback by ESPN as a high school senior, Johnson finished his prep career with 11,697 career passing yards and 131 touchdown passes along with adding 1,091 career rushing yards and 23 more scores via the ground.

With EMCC slated to have its full roster allotment of 55 players available this week at Gulf Coast, the Lions will welcome back to their lineup sophomores Isaiah Wright and Jacquez Horsley, who combined for nearly 1,000 rushing yards and 22 receptions a year ago.  Also expected to be back on the field are returning wide receivers Mario Lanier, Brooks Shannon and Damion Willis, who caught 41 passes between them last season as EMCC freshmen.

Defensively, the Lions will have the services of sophomore linebackers Ryan Lee and Allen Spurlock following a week's absence along with the return of second-year defensive backs TJ Jallow, Dontavius Powell and Alexander Lipscomb.

A week ago at Jones County while relegated to playing only true freshmen and incoming four-year transfers, EMCC was directed offensively by true freshman quarterback Vijay Miller, from Itawamba AHS, who was 22-of-37 through the air for 248 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.  Miller's top targets in his collegiate debut were Collins' Calvin Keys Jr. (6 catches for 59 yards), Meridian's Daniel Crowell Jr. (5 catches for 50 yards & 1 TD), and Raphael Leonard (4 catches for 93 yards & 2 TDs) of Starkville by way of Florida Atlantic University.

On the defensive side of the ball during last week's opener against Jones County, the Lions received stellar contributions from their four-year transfers.  Leading the way from his linebacker spot, Texas Tech transfer Dakota Allen collected a team-high 16 tackles along with intercepting a pass and knocking down another to garner MACJC Defensive Player of the Week honors.  On the ends, Louisville transfer Tim Bonner had seven tackles, a recovered fumble and a pass breakup, while Georgia transfer Chauncey Rivers was credited with four total stops, including two tackles for loss and a 9-yard sack, as well as forcing a fumble.  Michigan transfer Brian Cole II had eight tackles from his free safety position in addition to forcing a fumble and returning the ball 21 yards on a pooch kickoff during special teams play.

While having met in MACJC state playoff competition four times (all EMCC victories) in the last eight years, EMCC's Stephens owns a 6-2 career record against Mississippi Gulf Coast.  Along with EMCC's 4-0 mark versus MGCCC in postseason play, the Lions and Bulldogs have evenly split four regular-season gridiron meetings (1-1 in both Scooba and Perkinston) since 2008.  Most recently in the series, EMCC posted home playoff wins over Gulf Coast during the 2013 (45-28) and 2014 (42-21) MACJC state semifinals played in Scooba en route to claiming back-to-back state titles and consecutive national championships.  In the most recent meeting played in Perkinston six years ago (Sept. 2, 2010), the Bulldogs prevailed, 40-21, over the visiting Lions.

The current EMCC-Gulf Coast football rivalry dates back to Stephens' first two seasons as head coach in Scooba.  After essentially putting East Mississippi Community College back on the NJCAA football map with a 27-23 upset win at second-ranked MGCCC in 2008 (Sept. 18), the Lions and Bulldogs both gained national attention the following year in the 2009 MACJC state playoffs when EMCC outlasted Gulf Coast, 75-71, in regulation to capture the school's first state championship in football.                   

Thursday's contest between EMCC and Gulf Coast will be broadcast live by WFCA-FM (107.9), out of French Camp, with Jason Crowder and Charlie Winfield slated to provide the play-by-play and color commentary, respectively, and Glen Beard set to serve as the Lions' sideline reporter.  EMCC's 2016 football radio broadcasts will also be carried live by SuperTalk Mississippi (WZKR-FM 103.3) out of Meridian as well as through EMCC's campus radio station, WGTC-FM (92.7), originating from the Golden Triangle campus in Mayhew.

In addition, EMCC's weekly live video-streamed football broadcasts will be available in HD at www.EMCCAthletics.com/live.  Alternate audio streams of the radio broadcasts are also available at www.wfca.fm.  Fans are also encouraged to follow EMCC Athletics through the college's athletics website, www.EMCCAthletics.com, and on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@EMCCAthletics) via the school's social media hub at www.EMCCAthletics.com/Social-Media-Hub.