No. 2 EMCC set to kick off season Thursday by hosting JCJC in Buddy Stephens’ 100th career game

SCOOBA – Ranked second nationally in the NJCAA Preseason Top 20 Rankings, the Lions of East Mississippi Community College are set to open the 2017 football season Thursday evening by playing host to the Jones County Junior College Bobcats.  Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Sullivan-Windham Field on the Scooba campus.

Thursday's EMCC-JCJC season opener will mark the 100^th career game coached by 10^th-year EMCC head football coach Buddy Stephens, who enters the 2017 campaign sporting an overall career record of 87-12 with the Lions.  With his next victory, Stephens will surpass Hall of Fame coach Bob "Bull" Sullivan (87-71-4 from 1950-52, '56-68) to become the all-time career wins leader in school history.  Stephens' career winning percentage of .879 looks to also challenge the NJCAA's all-time standard for highest career winning percentage among football coaches with a minimum of 100 career games coached.  The current national mark is held by former Butler (Kan.) Community College head football coach Troy Morrell, who compiled a 15-year (2000-14) coaching record of 154-22 for a career winning percentage of .875.

Having reeled off 11 straight wins after last year's 27-25, season-opening loss at Jones County en route to capturing a fifth MACJC state championship in eight years as well as garnering a No. 2 national ranking in the final 2016 NJCAA poll, the EMCC Lions enter this year's slate having prevailed in 63 of their last 67 games dating back to the team's 2011 national championship season.  Over the past six years, EMCC has also put together separate winning streaks of 25 and 20 consecutive games.  

The Bobcats of Jones County are guided by second-year head coach Steve Buckley, who previously served as head coach at Petal High School for five seasons (2007-11) and was an assistant coach at Southern Miss on three occasions.  He guided JCJC to a 6-3 record last year in his first season with the Bobcats.    

EMCC's Stephens owns a 5-2 career record against Jones County through the years with the Bobcats being responsible for his first-ever and most recent coaching setbacks.  Along with last year's 27-25, season-opening road loss to JCJC, the Lions dropped a 23-19 decision in Ellisville during Week 2 of Stephens' first season (2008) at the East Mississippi helm.  In between those pair of setbacks to Jones, EMCC claimed five straight series wins over the Bobcats, including a 61-24 home triumph over JCJC during the 2013 MACJC state title game and a 26-16 home victory during the 2009 MACJC state semifinals.  The Lions' most recent wins over Jones County came during the 2015 (49-7 in Ellisville) and 2014 (55-0 in Scooba during homecoming) campaigns.

East Mississippi enters this year's five-game home slate sporting a 33-1 composite home record at Sullivan-Windham Field since the 5,000-seat facility opened in 2011, including a current streak of 23 consecutive home victories over the last four years.  The Lions' lone loss at their current home site was a 47-46 last-second setback to Copiah-Lincoln during the 2012 MACJC state semifinals.  

The EMCC Lions return 20 players from last year's 11-1 state championship squad, including 10 on offense, eight on defense and two on special teams.  Offensively, the team's top two returning receivers are Collins' Calvin Keys Jr. (32 catches for 367 yards & 3 touchdowns last year) and Meridian's Daniel Crowell Jr. (14 rec., 159 yds. & 3 TDs).  Tyrell Price, out of Lafayette High School, is EMCC's leading returning rusher with 393 yards and six touchdowns on 71 carries a year ago.  On the defensive side of the ball, Baldwyn's Duke Upshaw is the Lions' leading returning tackler with 40 stops and a team-high three interceptions a year ago from his cornerback position.  On special teams, kicker Taylor Crabtree, from Vancleave High School, is back after scoring a team-high 91 points for EMCC a year ago on 64-of-69 PATs and 9-of-12 field goals.

This year's East Mississippi squad should also benefit from the arrival of a handful of transfers from the university ranks.  On offense, the Lions have added LSU transfer quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr., who was Louisiana's 2015 Gatorade Player of the Year.  He'll have a trio of transfer receivers with whom to connect in Kirk Merritt (Texas A&M/Oregon), Mike Williams (Georgia Southern) and Brandon Rodgers (Marshall).  Defensively, EMCC has brought on board defensive lineman Lorenzo Dantzler and linebacker Emanuel Bridges from Southern Miss and Georgia Tech, respectively.            

Thursday's EMCC-JCJC season opener 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 2017 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.