Fourth-ranked EMCC Lions welcome Coahoma for Thursday divisional football contest in Scooba

SCOOBA – At the midpoint of the regular season, the fourth-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College stay at home to play host to the Coahoma Tigers in a Thursday night MACJC North Division gridiron battle on the Scooba campus.  Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at EMCC's New Sullivan-Windham Field.

Thursday's EMCC-Coahoma contest will be broadcast live by WFCA-FM radio (107.9), out of French Camp, with Jason Crowder and Jonathan Holmes set to describe the play-by-play action and John Lyle Briggs serving as the Lions' sideline reporter.  The live video-streamed broadcast will be available at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/emcc-football and can be accessed through EMCC's athletics website - http://athletics.eastms.edu.  An alternate audio stream of the radio broadcast will also be available by logging onto www.wfca108.com.

Ranked fourth nationally again this week in the NJCAA football poll, head coach Buddy Stephens' 4-0 EMCC Lions stayed perfect on the season by most recently claiming a 48-7 home victory over division foe Itawamba last Thursday in Scooba.  East Mississippi's three previous wins on the year came by a collective total of just 10 points, with a season-opening 34-30 home win over then-No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast followed by consecutive three-point road triumphs over Hinds (20-17) and then-No. 4 Northwest Mississippi (45-42). 

For the second straight week in the NJCAA's Top 20 national poll, the EMCC Lions continue to sit behind top-ranked Navarro College (TX), No. 2 Blinn College (TX) and third-ranked Arizona Western College.  Other MACJC schools ranked this week in the NJCAA poll include Northwest Mississippi (#10), Mississippi Gulf Coast (#12), Pearl River (#13) and Northeast Mississippi (#15).  Northeast and PRCC are next on EMCC's slate, as the Lions will travel to Booneville (Oct. 8) and Poplarville (Oct. 15) for back-to-back upcoming Saturday afternoon road contests.

After amassing 608 yards of total offense in last week's 41-point home triumph over Itawamba, the EMCC Lions continue to rank third among the NJCAA team statistical leaders by averaging 503.8 yards of total offense per game on the year.  That includes being rated second nationally in team passing offense with an average of 361.8 passing yards per contest.

Defensively as a team after limiting ICC to only 155 yards of total offense a week ago, including just 26 passing yards, East Mississippi has moved to the middle of the pack among the MACJC's team passing defense leaders by allowing an average of 160.3 yards an outing through the air.

Individually, EMCC freshman quarterback Bo Wallace, of Pulaski, Tenn., stands second nationally among the NJCAA statistical leaders in both passing offense and total offense with per-game averages of 351.5 and 363.3 yards, respectively.  In two weeks (Oct. 15 in Poplarville), Wallace, a former Arkansas State transfer, will battle head-to-head with current national passing and total offense leader Melvin German of Pearl River.

For the season, Wallace has completed eight or more passes to seven different receivers, including five different pass-catchers with touchdown receptions.  Leading the way on the receiving end is sophomore wideout Lacoltan Bester, who ranks among the nation's Top 10 leaders with 25 catches for 357 receiving yards on the year.  The former Kemper County standout also has four scoring grabs through the first four contests.  Former Meridian High School teammates Hamp Glover and JJ Harbin follow with 21 and 15 receptions, respectively, while fellow sophomore Rodney Davis (Millbrook, Ala.) is averaging a team-best 21.6 yards on 14 catches.

On the ground, rookie running back Rodriguez Moore remains the lone freshman in the MACJC football ranks to average 100 or more rushing yards per game in 2011.  Following last week's 90-yard rushing effort (on 10 carries with 2 TDs), the Bastrop, La., native is averaging 100.3 yards an outing as a freshman to rank among the Top 10 nationally.

Defensively, All-America candidate Denico Autry (Albemarle, N.C.) leads the way for the Lions with 39 total tackles (21 solos & 18 assists) from his defensive end position, including five tackles for loss, a 17-yard sack, 21 quarterback hurries and a forced fumble already this season.  Sophomore Michael Pack, of Meridian, paces EMCC's linebacking corps with 29 total stops, while the West Point defensive secondary tandem of sophomore Jeremy Cannon and freshman Justin Cox have combined for 11 pass breakups, four pass interceptions and two fumble recoveries on the year.

Guided by head coach Freeman Horton, Coahoma Community College is winless in four attempts this season.  After dropping non-divisional decisions to Copiah-Lincoln (24-14) and Jones County (46-20) to begin the year, the Tigers most recently have fallen in MACJC North Division play to Northwest Mississippi (44-21) last week in Clarksdale and two weeks ago at Holmes (15-14).

Through the years, EMCC owns a commanding 34-1 all-time series lead over Coahoma since the Tigers became affiliated with the Mississippi junior college athletic ranks in 1976.  The last three football meetings between the two teams have resulted in very similar outcomes, with the Lions prevailing both last season (49-14) and two years ago (49-20) in Clarksdale as well as in 2008 (47-20) in Scooba.