No. 1 EMCC Lions continue division slate by traveling to Mississippi Delta

SCOOBA – The top-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College reach the midpoint of the MACJC's regular-season football slate by traveling to Moorhead to take on the Mississippi Delta Community College Trojans Thursday evening.  Kickoff at Jim Randall Stadium is set for 7 p.m.

Owners of a current 15-game overall winning streak and a 26-game win string in MACJC North Division regular-season play, the EMCC Lions improved to 4-0 overall on the year and 2-0 within the division following last week's 48-24 home victory over Itawamba.  A week ago in Scooba, EMCC and ICC combined for more than 1,100 yards of total offense, including 494 passing yards by the Indians and 316 rushing yards by the Lions.  In that game, sophomore running backs Tyrell Price (120 yards) and Ja'Mori Mark (106) along with LSU transfer quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr. (91) all rushed for single-game career highs for the Lions.

Having kicked off the first third of the regular season with wins over Jones County (47-34), Mississippi Gulf Coast (49-10) and Northeast Mississippi (59-0), East Mississippi currently ranks fourth nationally in both scoring (50.8 ppg) and total offense (492.3 yds/gm).  As a team, the Lions are also tied for fourth among the NJCAA ranks with 16 rushing touchdowns on the year, while Price, a product of Lafayette High School, is tied for second nationally with nine scores via the ground.

Through the air, EMCC's Scott presently ranks sixth among the NJCAA's individual statistical leaders in passing yards per game (270.5 yds/gm) and seventh in pass completion percentage (63.7%).  On the receiving end, 14 different Lion players have caught passes through the first four games, including six players with touchdown receptions.  Transfers Kirk Merritt (Texas A&M/Oregon) and Brandon Rodgers (Marshall) lead the way for East Mississippi with 21 and 12 catches, respectively, on the year.

Defensively for the season, the Lions have collectively been credited with 37 tackles behind the line of scrimmage in four games, including 14 quarterback sacks for 91 total yards lost.  Eight different EMCC defenders have picked up sacks, led by transfer Aarron Boatright (Pima CC) and freshman Eriq Kitchen (South Panola HS) with three sacks each.  Sophomore linebacker Ty'Ree Evans, out of Wayne County High School, has recorded a team-high 41 total tackles on the year for the Lions.     

Guided by fifth-year head coach Jeff Tatum, the Trojans of Mississippi Delta are winless in four tries thus far this season.  After dropping non-division decisions to Copiah-Lincoln (31-6) and Jones County (51-10), Delta has been shut out by both Holmes (29-0) and Northwest Mississippi (41-0) during the team's first two MACJC North Division contests of the year.  The Trojans were officially 1-8 last year after being granted a forfeited win over Co-Lin during the opening week of the season.  Tatum, a former MDCC quarterback who previously served as the Trojans' offensive coordinator from 1987 to 1997 and also presently doubles as the school's director of athletics, succeeded 2017 EMCC Sports Hall of Fame inductee Jay Miller as Mississippi Delta's head football coach in 2013. 

EMCC's Stephens, who owns career coaching marks of 91-12 overall and 53-3 in division play in his 10^th season at the Lions helm, is unbeaten in nine previous meetings with Mississippi Delta (5-0 in Scooba & 4-0 in Moorhead) dating back to the 2008 season.  Most recently, the Lions claimed a 73-7 home triumph over the Trojans a year ago (Sept. 29) in Scooba.  The year prior (Oct. 22, 2015) in Moorhead, EMCC won by a final score of 48-0.                    

Thursday's EMCC-Delta contest 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.