Reigning MACCC champion EMCC Lions to kick off 2023 football slate at Copiah-Lincoln

SCOOBA – The reigning MACCC champion Lions of East Mississippi Community College will kick off the 2023 football season Thursday evening (Sept. 7) by taking on the Copiah-Lincoln Community College Wolves in Wesson. Game time for EMCC's season opener is set for 6:30 p.m. at Co-Lin's H.L. Stone Stadium.

Thursday's EMCC season opener at Co-Lin 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. Anthony Craven is set to handle sideline reporting duties. 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 emcclive.com. Alternate audio streams of the radio broadcasts are also available at wfca.fm.    

The Lions own a 7-3 series advantage (4-1 at Scooba & 3-2 at Wesson) over Co-Lin dating back to the 2008 season under the direction of 16^th-year EMCC head football coach Buddy Stephens. During last year's season opener in Scooba (Sept. 1), the home-standing EMCC Lions broke open a tight 3-0 contest at the half by scoring five second-half touchdowns on the way to cruising to a 38-0 win over Co-Lin. The season-opening triumph over the Wolves marked EMCC's 24^th shutout victory during the Stephens era. The Lions' previous two wins over Co-Lin came by identical 31-7 scores during the 2021 and 2018 seasons in Wesson and Scooba, respectively. The Wolves' most recent win over EMCC was a 31-24 overtime home triumph during the 2015 season.

The Co-Lin Wolves are guided by 20^th-year head coach Glenn Davis, who owns the longest consecutive tenure of any current MACCC football coach and enters the 2023 season ranked ninth among the NJCAA's active head football coaches with 99 career victories.

On the heels of claiming their eighth MACCC football championship during a title-filled, 14-year span dating back to 2009, East Mississippi's Lions enter the 2023 campaign ranked eighth nationally in the NJCAA Division I Football Poll. Following back-to-back seasons (8-3 in 2022 & 9-1 in 2021) with No. 6 season-ending NJCAA rankings, this year's EMCC squad has earned No. 1 preseason rankings by JCGridiron and JUCOWeekly.

Showcasing an overall head coaching record of 133-21 (.864), including an 11-year composite record of 109-13 (.893) dating back to the 2011 season, EMCC's Stephens will open the 2023 campaign ranked fourth among the NJCAA's winningest active head football coaches. The three-time NJCAA Coach of the Year recipient ranks second all-time in career winning percentage for NJCAA head football coaches with at least 100 career games coached. He also currently ranks 27^th on the NJCAA's all-time career wins list and is fifth in Mississippi junior college football history. In addition to the Lions' eight conference titles (2009, '11, '13-14, '16-18 & '22) in the last 14 years, Stephens' EMCC football teams have also captured five national championships (2011, '13-14 & '17-18) and 10 division crowns (2008-09, '11-16, '18 & '21) dating back to the 2008 season.

Following Thursday's season opener at Copiah-Lincoln, the EMCC Lions will then close out the month of September with successive home Thursday contests against sixth-ranked Jones College (Sept. 14), Holmes (Sept. 21) and Mississippi Gulf Coast (Sept. 28). Game times are scheduled for 7 p.m. at Sullivan-Windham Field on the Scooba campus. 

EMCC's season-opening, 65-man roster features 47 newcomers and only 18 players returning from last year's 8-3 MACCC championship team. Heading into the upcoming season, the Lions have had to replace both quarterbacks who played last season as well as the team's top four rushers, top 12 receivers and top 18 tackles leaders from a year ago.

Expected to highlight the Lions' list of newcomers is Southern Miss transfer quarterback Ty Keyes, who spent two seasons with the Golden Eagles following a standout prep career at Taylorsville High School. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound signal-caller was a two-time Mississippi Gatorade Football Player of the Year and three-time Class 2A Mr. Football by the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC) who led the Taylorsville High School Tartars to a four-year composite record of 58-4 and three MHSAA Class 2A state championships. He completed his Taylorsville prep career with 14,525 passing yards and 155 touchdowns.

Under the guidance of offensive coordinator Cade Wilkerson, the Lions' new-look offensive attack features a handful of transfer wide receivers that look to be led by Mississippi products Cam Wright and Jacobi Moore along with Kentucky native Marcus Harris. Wright spent the previous two seasons at the University of Memphis after ranking as a 2020 Bernard Blackwell All-Star Classic selection for South Panola High School. Moore, who was a 2020 Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game selection for Harrison Central High School, began his collegiate career at Mississippi State in 2021 before spending last season at Ole Miss. Harris, who also figures to be prominently featured in the Lions' kickoff and punt return plans, transferred to EMCC following last year's freshman season at Kent State University.

Other EMCC receivers expected to make contributions this season include newcomers Raymon Blackmon from Dothan, Alabama and Starkville's Jaylon York, returning sophomore Ty Crowell (New Hope HS), plus transfers Christian Wortham (South Alabama/Grenada HS) and Kanarius Johnson (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC/Laurel HS).

In the offensive backfield for the Lions, Laurel's Kiron Benjamin returns as a potential sophomore starter after limited action a year ago. He looks to be pushed by transfer Jaylen Jennings, a Columbus, Ohio native who retained his redshirt status after playing in four games for Bowling Green State University last season.

At right tackle, Starkville's Karsten Upchurch returns as EMCC's lone offensive starter. The Lions did receive a timely late-summer addition to their rebuilt offensive line with the arrival of former Texas A&M transfer and Memphis native Chris Morris at the left tackle spot. The interior of EMCC's offensive line figures to primarily consist of incoming true freshmen.

On the defensive side of the football under the direction of defensive coordinator Kevie Thompson, East Mississippi appears to have a solid combination of returning players and impact transfers to make the Lions' stopper unit formidable once again. Mississippi State signee Tyler Woodard is expected to provide veteran leadership among EMCC's returnees from his free safety position. Returning defenders who are looking to step into starting role contenders for the Lions are defensive end Colin Crowder (Newton County HS), nose guard Ashun Shepphard (Brandon HS), bandit Jalyn Durgan (St. Martin HS), linebackers Marcus Ross (Jefferson Davis County HS) and Devin Arrington (Germantown HS), along with defensive backs Tyrane Stewart (South Pike HS) and Bakari McCall (Wayne County HS).

EMCC's defensive unit also looks to benefit from the arrival of a handful of transfers from FBS schools as well as the addition of talented freshmen from inside and beyond the Magnolia State. Challenging for starting roles for the Lions as bounce-back performers from Power Five conference schools are defensive tackle Shone Washington (Georgia/New Orleans, LA), defensive end Alvin Williams (Colorado/Atlanta, GA), as well as defensive backs Anthony Rose (South Carolina/Miami, FL), Shannon Blair (Tennessee/Knoxville, TN) and Brylan Lanier (Alabama & Indiana/Tuscaloosa, AL). Former Starkville and Noxubee County standout linebacker Tyrese Hopkins also figures to make an immediate impact on defense after spending the past two seasons at Southern Miss.

Out-of-state freshmen expected to contribute as first-year newcomers include defensive linemen Zavion Hardy (Macon, GA), Rosco Malloy (Anniston, AL) and Mikel Hines (Hueytown, AL), along with defensive back DJ Hill-Smith (Reed, AR). Mississippi products also looking to supply immediate help include linebacker Martavis Blackmon (Oxford HS), plus the defensive backfield trio comprised of Laurel's Ajaveon Hatten and the Starkville tandem of Jejuan Davis and Brandon Short.  

East Mississippi's kicking game appears to be in solid shape with the return of All-MACCC/North Division first-team placekicker Cole Arthur. Along with ranking tied for sixth nationally a year ago with 72 kicking points on 8-of-11 field goals and 48-of-50 extra points, the Leake Academy product also earned honorable mention punting honors as an EMCC freshman.