No. 3 EMCC Lions set to host Mississippi Gulf Coast in MACJC State Semifinals Saturday in Scooba

SCOOBA – The third-ranked and six-time reigning MACJC North Division Champion Lions of East Mississippi Community College begin their quest for a fifth state football championship Saturday afternoon by playing host to MACJC South Division runner-up Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in the MACJC State Semifinals.  Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Sullivan-Windham Field on the Scooba campus.

In Saturday's other MACJC football playoff game, South Division Champion East Central Community College will entertain reigning national champion Northwest Mississippi Community College, the MACJC North's runner-up, in a 2 p.m. contest at Bailey Stadium in Decatur.  Saturday's winners will play for the 2016 MACJC State Championship the following Saturday (Nov. 12) at a site to be determined by this weekend's outcomes.  The highest-seeded MACJC South team remaining would host the state championship.  An MACJC North matchup in the state title game would be hosted by EMCC.  

Still trailing current top-ranked Garden City (KS) Community College and No. 2 Arizona Western College in this week's NJCAA Top 20 poll, head coach Buddy Stephens' 8-1 EMCC Lions have won eight consecutive games since narrowly dropping a 27-25 season-opening decision at Jones County Junior College.  Most recently, the three-time national champions closed out the 2016 regular season with consecutive 42-0 shutout victories over Coahoma and Hinds.

Ranked fifth nationally as a team in both scoring offense (48.8 ppg) and total offense (540.6 yds/gm), the EMCC Lions are ignited offensively by Florida State transfer quarterback and two-time NJCAA Offensive Player of the Week recipient De'Andre Johnson, who is complemented by a stable of productive running backs and a bountiful corps of reliable receivers.  Along with individually ranking among the NJCAA's Top 10 statistical leaders in passing yards per game (263.8 yds/gm), pass completion percentage (62.5%) and passing touchdowns (22), Johnson also continues to be EMCC's leader on the ground with 563 rushing yards for the year.

In the Lions' backfield, sophomores Jacquez Horsley (428 yards) and Isaiah Wright (389) along with freshmen Tyrell Price (325) and Brieton Sykes (164) have combined to rush for 1,306 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season.  Through the air, EMCC features eight different receivers with double-digit catches, including five with 20 or more receptions, as well as nine with multiple touchdown catches this year.

Defensively on the season, the team's recent back-to-back shutout wins give the Lions 19 total shutouts during the Stephens era.  Individually, Texas Tech transfer linebacker Dakota Allen is tied for 21^st nationally with an MACJC-leading average of 10.0 total tackles per contest.

Including a composite overall record of 60-4 (.938) over the last six seasons, EMCC's Stephens owns a nine-year overall coaching record of 84-12 (.875), which includes a 51-3 (.944) regular-season mark against MACJC North Division opponents.  Under his guidance dating back to the 2008 season, the Lions are 8-3 (.727) during MACJC state playoff competition, including state championships claimed during the 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2014 campaigns.  In EMCC's other state playoff appearances during the Stephens era, the Lions fell in the semifinals in 2008, 2010 and 2012.             

Coach Stephens is 7-2 against Mississippi Gulf Coast during his EMCC career, including a current streak of five straight wins over the Bulldogs dating back to the Lions' 2011 national championship season.  Most recently during Week 2 of the current season (Sept. 8), EMCC scored 45 unanswered points against then-No. 17 Gulf Coast to cruise to a 45-7 road win over the Bulldogs at newly renovated A.L. May Memorial Stadium in Perkinston.  Previously in postseason play, the Lions knocked off MGCCC during state championship contests played in Scooba in 2009 (75-71) and 2011 (42-17).  Most recently in the series, EMCC bested the Bulldogs in state semifinal-round action contested in Scooba during the 2013 (45-28) and 2014 (42-21) seasons en route to claiming back-to-back state and national championships.       

In addition, the EMCC Lions are 31-1 at Sullivan-Windham Field since their 5,000-seat facility opened in 2011, including a current streak of 21 consecutive home victories over the last four years.    

Guided by head coach Chad Huff, Mississippi Gulf Coast is 5-4 overall on the year with a 4-2 record in MACJC South Division play to earn a No. 2 seed by virtue of its 21-7 home win over Copiah-Lincoln during Week 3.  Following a 1-3 start on the year, the Bulldogs won four straight games (Hinds, Mississippi Delta, Southwest Mississippi & Pearl River) before dropping their regular-season finale, 28-14, at Jones County.

Saturday's EMCC-Gulf Coast state playoff meeting 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.  The radio broadcast will also be carried live 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.

Contact:  David Rosinski, EMCC Sports Information Director                                                                                            

Office:  (662) 476-5042; Cell:  (662) 312-3585; E-mail: drosinski@eastms.edu