No. 6 EMCC Lions set to host No. 4 Co-Lin Wolves for 2023 MACCC Football Championship

SCOOBA – Bidding for their ninth conference football championship in the past 15 years under head coach Buddy Stephens, the sixth-ranked and reigning MACCC champion Lions of East Mississippi Community College are set to play host to the fourth-ranked Copiah-Lincoln Wolves in Saturday's 2023 MACCC Football Championship Game. Kickoff between the respective No. 1 seeds of the MACCC's North and South Divisions is slated for 2 p.m. at EMCC's Sullivan-Windham Field.

Tickets for Saturday's 2 p.m. MACCC Football Championship Game will be available at the Sullivan-Windham Field Ticket Office on game day. Adult tickets are $10 and college student tickets are $5 with a valid school ID. EMCC and Copiah-Lincoln students will be admitted free of charge with a valid student ID. Chairback seats will also be available for $25.

Saturday's top-10 gridiron matchup between the No. 6 EMCC Lions and the No. 4 Co-Lin Wolves for the 2023 MACCC Football Championship will be broadcast live by WFCA-FM (107.9), out of French Camp, with Jason Crowder and Glen Beard slated to provide the play-by-play and color commentary, respectively. John King is set to handle the sideline reporting duties. The game's live-streamed audio will also be carried by 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 emcclive.com. Alternate audio streams of the radio broadcasts are also available at wfca.fm.

Making their 14^th conference playoff appearance since Stephens' arrival on the Scooba campus, the 8-2 East Mississippi Lions secured their 11^th MACCC North Division football title with their 10^th unbeaten division slate since the 2008 season. With an 8-0 mark in conference championship contests under Stephens' direction, EMCC enters Saturday's title tilt on a six-game winning streak after posting a 33-21 home victory over then-No. 6 Mississippi Gulf Coast during last Saturday's MACCC Semifinals.

For the second consecutive Saturday, the Lions will have an opportunity to avenge their only losses of the current campaign. During the first month of the 2023 season, EMCC dropped a 23-20 season-opening decision to Copiah-Lincoln in Wesson and then fell, 42-17, at home to MGCCC three weeks later to close out the month of September with a 2-2 overall record. 

Appearing in their first conference championship game since 2014, the 9-1 Wolves of Copiah-Lincoln were co-champions (5-1) in the MACCC's South Division along with Gulf Coast and Jones College. Their lone setback of the year was a 42-32 road loss to Jones, Sept. 21, in Ellisville. Co-Lin has since reeled off seven consecutive wins, including a 48-14 home triumph over Northwest Mississippi in the MACCC Semifinals and a key 28-23 regular-season road victory over Gulf Coast, Oct. 12, in Perkinston.

Heading into Saturday's MACCC Football Championship Game, East Mississippi ranks second in scoring offense (39.4 ppg) among NJCAA Division I team statistical leaders, seventh in total offense yards (431.0 ypg), fourth in passing yards (288.3 ypg), and 16^th in rushing yards (142.7 ypg). Defensively, the Lions stand 12^th in scoring defense (19.7 ppg), 21^st in total defense yards (316.2 ypg), tied for fourth in quarterback sacks (40), and tied for 23^rd in pass interceptions (10).

Guided by 20^th-year head coach Glenn Davis, Copiah-Lincoln ranks 15^th nationally in scoring offense (30.0 ppg), 16^th in total offense yards (351.2 ypg), 24^th in passing yards (186.8 ypg), and 10^th in rushing yards (164.4 ypg). On the defensive side, the Wolves rate sixth within NJCAA Division I ranks in scoring defense (17.6 ppg), 14^th in total defense yards (288.3 ypg), 11^th in QB sacks (30), and tied for 12^th in pass interceptions (14).

Individually, East Mississippi's high-scoring offense is engineered by three-time MACCC Offensive Player of the Week Ty Keyes, who currently leads NJCAA Division I football with 27 touchdown passes and ranks second with an average of 270.9 passing yards per game. The Southern Miss bounceback, out of Taylorsville High School, has completed 208-of-343 (60.6%) passes on the season.

Featuring eight players with 10 or more receptions for the year, EMCC is led by Memphis bounceback Cam Wright, who ranks among the NJCAA's top-10 Division I receivers in catches (44), reception yards (756), yards per catch (17.2), and touchdown catches (8).

On the ground, EMCC features the productive running back duo of Kiron Benjamin (109 att, 554 yds & 7 TD) and Jaylen Jennings (96 att, 467 yds & 7 TD), who have combined for 1,021 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on 205 attempts between them this season.  

Defensively, EMCC has totaled 79 tackles behind the line of scrimmage as a team, including 40 quarterback sacks that are divided among 19 different defenders. The Lions have also accounted for 10 pass interceptions on the year, including multiple picks by Bakari McCall (3), Shannon Blair (3), and Tyrane Stewart (2).

Copiah-Lincoln's offensive attack is powered by running back Johnnie Davis, who is the reigning MACCC Offensive Player of the Week following his career-high, 163-yard effort plus four touchdowns in only 14 attempts during last week's MACCC Semifinals victory over Northwest. He is the second-leading rusher in NJCAA Division I football with 1,061 rushing yards and an NJCAA-high 14 rushing touchdowns. Through the air, the Wolves are led by quarterback DeVon Tott, who has thrown for 1,618 yards and nine touchdowns on 147-of-250 (58.8%) passing for the season.

EMCC's Stephens, now in his 16^th year as head coach of the Lions, has put together an impressive career overall record of 141-23 (.860), including a 17-5 (.773) composite conference playoff record (9-5 in semifinals & 8-0 in championship games). He owns a 7-4 career record versus Copiah-Lincoln (4-1 in Scooba & 3-3 in Wesson) that includes a 2-2 mark versus the Wolves in postseason play. Most recently in conference playoff action against Co-Lin, the Lions claimed a 31-7 home win in the 2018 conference semifinals en route to earning their seventh conference title and fifth national championship. East Mississippi's only prior conference championship game meeting with the Wolves resulted in a 54-15 EMCC road victory in 2014 to nail down a second straight conference title.

With eight conference championships in as many previous title game appearances under Stephens' guidance, East Mississippi has collected four of those league titles at home and four others away from Scooba. EMCC's last three conference championships have all come on the road – last year at Northwest, 2018 at Jones, and 2017 at Northwest. The Lions' most recent league title claimed at home came in 2016 when they knocked off Gulf Coast in the semis and Northwest in the championship game – both in Scooba – to kick off a string of three straight conference championship seasons for EMCC. East Mississippi's first three conference crowns were earned during consecutive odd years with home sweeps (semifinals & championships) during the 2009 (Jones & Gulf Coast), 2011 (Hinds & Gulf Coast), and 2013 (Gulf Coast & Jones) seasons.