Sixth-ranked EMCC Lions to face No. 13 Northwest in key MACCC North gridiron clash

SCOOBA – At the midway mark of the MACCC football season, the sixth-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College travel to Senatobia to take on 13^th-ranked Northwest Mississippi Thursday evening (Sept. 30).  With possible postseason implications on the line, Thursday's kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Ranger Stadium at Bobby Franklin Field.

Tickets for Thursday's EMCC-Northwest football game must be purchased online in advance at https://nwccrangers.com/sports/2021/8/19/northwest-tickets.aspx.

Elevated to No. 6 in this week's NJCAA Division I football poll following two consecutive weeks at No. 11, Coach Buddy Stephens' 4-0 EMCC Lions (2-0 in MACCC North Division play) currently lead the MACCC in scoring offense (46.5 ppg – 4^th in NJCAA) and scoring defense (6.0 ppg – 2^nd in NJCAA).  While having allowed the opposition only one score during each of the first four contests this season, East Mississippi is bidding for a September sweep after having previously knocked off East Central (32-7), Southwest Mississippi (49-7), Mississippi Delta (56-3) and Holmes (49-7) earlier in the month.

Offensively, the Lions are directed by sophomore quarterback Jamari Jones, who enters the week ranked third nationally with an MACCC-high 13 touchdown passes in addition to being EMCC's second-leading rusher on the year with 169 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.  The Northwest Rankin High School product has completed 69-of-109 (63.3%) passes for an average of 208.3 yards per game through the air. 

Most recently, Jones accounted for five touchdowns and 303 yards of total offense in three quarters of action during EMCC's 42-point victory over the Bulldogs a week ago.  In addition to completing 17-of-28 passes for 212 yards and four touchdowns against Holmes, Jones also rushed for a team-high 91 yards and one score on seven attempts.  Along with throwing his touchdown passes to four different receivers, he had rushes for 28 (TD), 26 and 25 yards.

The Lions feature eight different receivers with five or more catches on the season, led by Josh Aka (Starkville) and Jontarius Henderson (Laurel) with 17 receptions each.  Eight EMCC players have also caught touchdown passes this year, with Zach Patterson (Corinth) leading the way with four scoring grabs.

EMCC's ground attack is powered by sophomore Zias Perryman (Laurel), who has rushed for a team-high 181 yards and four touchdowns through four games.

Collectively as a defensive unit, the Lions have made 31 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including 13 quarterback sacks.  Syracuse transfer Lee Kpogba has been credited with a team-most 30 total tackles from his linebacker position, while South Florida transfer Trey Laing and freshman defensive lineman Devonyal Lofton (Forest) lead the way with four sacks apiece.  In the EMCC secondary, freshman strong safety Jeremy Mack Jr. (Clinton) has a pass interception during each of the last three games to rank tied for the national lead.

Guided by sixth-year head coach Benjy Parker, who is in his 16^th season overall as a junior college football coach, 13^th-ranked Northwest Mississippi is 3-1 overall on the year.  The Rangers have rebounded from their 31-9 loss at Jones on Sept. 9 with division wins over Holmes (51-20) and Northeast Mississippi (45-13).  Northwest opened the season with a 31-12 home win over Copiah-Lincoln.      

Thursday's EMCC-Northwest gridiron matchup marks the 11^th meeting in the past 14 seasons that both teams will have been nationally ranked when going head-to-head.  EMCC's Stephens owns an 11-3 career record versus the Rangers, including back-to-back state championship wins (2016 & 2017) over Northwest when both teams were ranked top five nationally.  The 2008 season marks the only time in the past 14 years that neither team was ranked during head-to-head meetings.

Additionally, dating back to the 2008 football season, East Mississippi and Northwest Mississippi have combined to claim each of the previous 13 MACCC North Division regular-season championships.  The Lions have won nine of those division titles, while the Rangers have earned the other four MACCC North crowns.  Aided by the Lions' seven conference championships since 2009 and five national titles during an eight-year span (2011-18), EMCC and Northwest have also combined to account for nine MACCC football championships in the last 12 years along with six NJCAA titles over the last 10 seasons.   

Thursday's EMCC-Northwest contest 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.  The game's live-streamed audio will also be carried 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 EMCCAthletics.com/live.  Alternate audio streams of the radio broadcasts are also available at wfca.fm.

Additionally, Thursday's game will also be live-streamed by Northwest Mississippi at nwccrangers.com/watch.