East Mississippi freshman quarterback Bo Wallace earns MACJC weekly honor for second time

SCOOBA – Following his second 400-yard passing performance of the season, freshman quarterback Bo Wallace of the fourth-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College has been recognized as an MACJC Star of the Week for the second time in five weeks.  The weekly honor is given to two Mississippi junior college football standouts that are featured in the Sunday Blitz section of The Clarion-Ledger newspaper, in conjunction with jucoweekly.org.

A transfer from Arkansas State University, Wallace completed 35-of-50 passes for 401 yards and seven touchdowns in EMCC's 56-6 home triumph over Coahoma last Thursday in Scooba.  In addition to connecting with 12 different receivers on the night, Wallace picked up 26 rushing yards in seven attempts.

Jones County running back Tiger Powell is the other MACJC player honored this week by The Clarion-Ledger/jucoweekly.org.

In his collegiate debut last month (Sept. 1), Wallace initially collected MACJC Star of the Week honors after throwing for 405 yards and three touchdowns on 31-of-48 passing to lead the EMCC Lions to a 34-30, season-opening home victory over reigning state champion and then-No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Wallace's repeat recognition marks the third time through the first five weeks this season that an East Mississippi player has earned MACJC Star of the Week accolades.  Two weeks ago, EMCC sophomore wide receiver/kick returner Rodney Davis garnered the state's weekly honor following the Lions' key 45-42 road win over defending MACJC North Division champion Northwest Mississippi.  The Millbrook, Ala., native accounted for 322 yards of all-purpose running and two touchdowns, including a 100-yard touchdown return of a missed field-goal attempt, against the then-No. 4 Northwest Rangers.

In addition to their state-wide recognition, EMCC's Wallace and Davis were both previously tabbed nationally as NJCAA Players of the Week for their respective offensive and special teams efforts earlier this season.

For the season, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Wallace continues to rank second nationally in both passing and total offense with per-game averages of 361.4 and 376 yards, respectively.  The Pulaski, Tenn., native has completed 68 percent (143-of-210) of his passes on the year for 1,807 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Head coach Buddy Stephens' EMCC Lions, 5-0 overall and 3-0 within the division, play on the road three times during the month of October, beginning with Saturday's (Oct. 8) MACJC North Division showdown at Northeast Mississippi that should go a long way in determining this year's division champion.  Coming off last week's 34-28 road win over Northwest Mississippi, the 15^th-ranked Tigers of Northeast are likewise 5-0 overall and 3-0 in division play on the year.  Saturday's NEMCC homecoming contest against East Mississippi is set for a 3 p.m. kickoff at Tiger Stadium in Booneville.