Three-time reigning state champion EMCC set to begin title defense at No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast

SCOOBA – Set to make their 11^th MACJC football playoff appearance in 12 seasons under Coach Buddy Stephens' guidance, the 13^th-ranked and three-time reigning state champion Lions of East Mississippi Community College travel to Perkinston to begin their title defense by taking on the top-ranked and unbeaten Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs Saturday evening in the MACJC semifinals.  Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at A.L. May Memorial Stadium on the MGCCC campus.

Saturday's other MACJC semifinal-round matchup will have seventh-ranked and MACJC South Division runner-up Jones College (7-2) traveling to Senatobia to meet 10^th-ranked and MACJC North Division top seed Northwest Mississippi (7-2) in a 2 p.m. contest to be played at Bobby Franklin Field on the NWCC campus.  The two winners from Saturday's state semifinals will play for the 2019 MACJC football championship the following Saturday (Nov. 9) at a site to be determined by the semifinal results.  

After receiving some help from other teams during the final weeks of the regular season to even get into this year's state playoffs, the EMCC Lions secured the MACJC North Division's No. 2 seed by claiming a 30-22 homecoming victory over Northeast Mississippi this past Saturday in Scooba.  A late-season loss by Holmes at Mississippi Delta and last Thursday's upset road victory by Itawamba over Northwest opened the door to create a four-way tie atop the MACJC's North Division standings with identical 4-2 division marks.  The MACJC's four-team tiebreaker sent the two teams with the best overall records (Northwest at 7-2 & EMCC at 6-3) into the playoffs.

With renewed postseason life after previously sitting at 4-3 overall and 2-2 in division play entering Week 8, the 6-3 EMCC Lions finished the regular season with division wins at Coahoma (55-20) and at home against Northeast (30-22) to earn the opportunity to defend their current streak of three consecutive MACJC football championships (2016-17-18).  Having also previously claimed state titles in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2014 under Stephens' guidance, East Mississippi is bidding to become the first MACJC school to collect four straight state football titles since Pearl River earned four consecutive MACJC championships from 2003 through 2006.  Stephens served as the Wildcats' offensive line coach during PRCC's previous gridiron title run before being hired as EMCC's head football coach in December 2007.

Statistically as a team on the year, East Mississippi enters postseason play tied for ninth among the NJCAA leaders averaging an MACJC-best 37.9 points per game.  In addition, the Lions rank second nationally in passing yards (316.6 yds/gm behind Navarro) and fourth in total offense with a state-high average of 480.6 total yards per game just ahead of Mississippi Gulf Coast (467.6 yds/gm).  Defensively for the season, EMCC is tied for 10th nationally and ranked first among MACJC teams with 13 pass interceptions.  The Lions are also tied with MGCCC for the state lead (18^th nationally) with 31 quarterback sacks.

Individually for EMCC, transfer quarterback Connor Neville (Beaverton, OR) currently ranks third among the NJCAA statistical leaders with an average of 273.7 passing yards per contest.  In addition, the Washington State transfer rates fourth nationally in pass completion percentage (64.0%) and is tied for ninth in the country with 18 touchdown passes for the year.

On the receiving end for the Lions, sophomore Jason Brownlee continues to lead the NJCAA with 67 receptions on the year while ranking second nationally with 957 receiving yards and also with 12 touchdown catches on the season.  The West Point product owns five 100-yard receiving efforts for the year and caught at least one touchdown pass in all nine regular-season games.  Brownlee enters the state playoffs needing nine catches and 85 receiving yards to match EMCC's single-season marks (Stephens Era) of 76 receptions and 1,042 receiving yards currently held by former Oklahoma receiver Lacoltan Bester set during the Lions' 2011 national championship season.  In addition, fellow EMCC sophomore receivers Pervis Frazier (Louisville) and Austin Morphis (Pontotoc) presently rank fifth and 11^th nationally with 49 and 42 receptions, respectively.

EMCC's rushing game is led by the tandem of sophomore Keon Moore (543 yards & 4 TDs ) and freshman Zias Perryman (468 yards & 8 TDs), who have combined for 1,011 rushing yards and a dozen scores on the ground between them for the season.    

Guided by second-year head football coach Jack Wright, the No. 1-ranked and undefeated Bulldogs of Mississippi Gulf Coast (9-0, 6-0) most recently kept their perfect season intact by posting a 31-21 road win over Hinds to capture the MACJC South Division regular-season crown outright.  Having won all but one of their nine regular-season outings by double figures (20-14 over Jones), the Bulldogs knocked off MACJC North Division foes Mississippi Delta (49-9), Coahoma (36-6) and Holmes (41-7) to begin the season before sweeping through their MACJC South Division slate.

Featuring a well-balanced offense along with a nationally rated defense, Mississippi Gulf Coast ranks fifth among NJCAA team statistical leaders in total offense (467.6 yds/gm), sixth in rushing yards (221.2 yds/gm), tied for 12^th in passing yards (246.3 yds/gm) and 14^th in scoring (35.6 pts/gm).  The Bulldogs are led by sophomore quarterback Chance Lovertich, who ranks third nationally in pass completion percentage (64.4%), tied for fourth with 21 touchdowns thrown and 12^th in passing yards (238.9 yds/gm).

Defensively heading into postseason play, the Bulldogs presently top the NJCAA team statistical leaderboard in total defense (181.9 yds/gm) while ranking second nationally in passing defense (116.3 yds/gm), third in scoring defense (12.1 pts/gm) and sixth in rushing defense (65.6 yds/gm). 

EMCC's Stephens owns a 9-2 career record (5-0 in MACJC playoffs) versus Mississippi Gulf Coast (2-1 in Perkinston & 7-1 in Scooba), including a current seven-game series winning streak against the Bulldogs that spans back to the 2011 season when the Lions opened their current Sullivan-Windham Field site with a 34-30 season-opening win over MGCCC.  The two teams met again two months later on the Scooba campus as EMCC completed the season series sweep with a 42-17 home victory over Gulf Coast to claim the 2011 state championship.  Two years prior to that in one of the most memorable state title games in MACJC history, the Lions outlasted the Bulldogs, 75-71, in regulation to capture the 2009 state title during an instant classic that was played at the previous Sullivan-Windham Field site on the Scooba campus.  EMCC also knocked off Gulf Coast in semifinal-round home playoff action three times during a four-year span, prevailing in 2013 (45-28), 2014 (42-21) and 2016 (27-24) en route to winning state championships.  In addition, the Lions won the two most recent regular-season meetings between the two teams with a 49-10 home triumph two years ago in Scooba and a 45-7 victory at Perkinston in 2016.

With a 12-year EMCC head coaching record of 116-16 (.879), including a nine-year composite mark of 92-8 dating back to the Lions' first national championship season (2011), Stephens currently ranks as the NJCAA's all-time leader in highest career winning percentage (.879) with at least 100 games coached.  He is also presently tied for fifth among the NJCAA's active head football coaches with 116 career wins.  Some of Stephens' other career coaching marks include a 66-6 record in MACJC North Division regular-season play, 14-3 in MACJC playoff games, 12-0 in championship contests (7-0 in MACJC & 5-0 in NJCAA), 7-0 in NJCAA bowl games and 21-2 against top-five teams, including a composite 11-0 record against teams ranked third nationally or higher.  EMCC's three wins over nationally ranked No. 1 teams during the Stephens era have come against Northwest Mississippi (51-32 in 2016), Georgia Military (52-32 in 2013 NJCAA title game) and Arizona Western (55-47 in 2011 NJCAA title game).

The EMCC Lions enter this year's MACJC football playoffs sporting a current 10-game winning streak in state playoff action dating back to the 2013 season.  That six-year span consists of EMCC winning back-to-back state championships in 2013 and 2014 and then again consecutively in 2016, 2017 and 2018.  With previous state titles also claimed during the 2009 and 2011 campaigns, the Lions are 7-0 in MACJC championship games during the Stephens era.  Their three state playoff losses under Stephens' direction have come in semifinal action during the 2008, 2010 and 2012 seasons.  Additionally, the Lions are 10-2 at home and 4-1 on the road in MACJC playoff action since 2008 with their most recent state championships both coming away from home by earning last season's title at Jones (19-14) and two years ago at Northwest Mississippi (67-66 in 2OT).    

Saturday's MACJC semifinal-round gridiron battle between 13^th-ranked EMCC and No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast will be broadcast live by WFCA-FM (107.9) and at www.wfca.fm, out of French Camp, with Glen Beard and Jonathan Holmes slated to provide the play-by-play and color commentary, respectively, while Wes Barnett is set to handle sideline reporting duties.  Postseason action 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 live video-streamed postseason football broadcasts will be available in HD at www.EMCCAthletics.com/live.