No. 2 EMCC Lions drop 34-28 home setback to No. 10 Gulf Coast in season opener

SCOOBA, Miss. -- Second-ranked East Mississippi Community College came out on the short end of a back-and-forth, top-10 battle with No. 10 Mississippi Gulf Coast by dropping a 34-28 season-opening home decision during Thursday's weather-delayed football action played at EMCC's Sullivan-Windham Field.

In a rematch of last year's MACCC Semifinals won by the EMCC Lions, 33-21, Thursday's lid-lifter kicked off an hour later than the scheduled 7 p.m. start due to lightning. Once the weather cleared, the teams proceeded to match touchdowns and subsequent PAT kicks through the opening three quarters of play.

After the Lions knotted the score for the third time on the night with 3:32 remaining in the third quarter on Ty Keyes' 8-yard touchdown pass to Jaylon York, they then took their first and only lead of the game on backup quarterback Cole McCarty's 2-yard keeper at the 9:37 mark of the final period. EMCC's eight-play, 84-yard scoring drive put the two-time reigning MACCC champions on top, 28-21.

The Bulldogs responded by marching 72 yards on 11 plays to record the game's fourth deadlock on Landon Varnes' 10-yard touchdown toss to Lester Miller with 5:50 remaining in the contest.

The start of EMCC's next drive moved back to the 22-yard line following an unsportsmanlike penalty. The three-and-out possession took a turn for the worse when a high snap from center to freshman punter Jackson Bunyard resulted in the kick being knocked down at the line of scrimmage and recovered by MGCCC's Zack Evans. Four plays later with just under three minutes left on the game clock, the Bulldogs went back ahead, 34-28, when Varnes added a 1-yard scoring keeper on the ground to his four passing touchdowns on the evening. The extra-point attempt failed, however, keeping the margin at six points.

The Lions could not take advantage of the potential opportunity, as Keyes misconnected with three different receivers on their final possession of the contest. The visitors then proceeded to run out the remaining 2:25 on the clock.

The game's string of alternating touchdowns scored between the two interdivisional foes began when Gulf Coast's Varnes found Tyler Henderson from 10 yards out at the 5:18 mark of the opening quarter. The Lions answered three minutes into the second quarter on Keyes' 7-yard scoring toss to Brendan Brown to tie the game at 7-7.

The teams then traded scores later in the quarter, as Keyes' 5-yard touchdown keeper to close out the first half of play matched Varnes' 10-yard scoring pass to JP Coulter that came midway through the quarter.

After reaching the intermission knotted at 14-14, EMCC and Gulf Coast continued the matching scoring trend following the break. Varnes' 9-yard TD pass to Mason Beverly at the 12:09 mark was equaled by the Keyes-to-York, game-tying connection later in the third quarter that set up the eventful final 15 minutes of action.

Offensively for the reigning national runners-up, Keyes completed 23-of-39 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener on the heels of earning 2023 NJCAA Division I Offensive Player of the Year honors a season ago. His top targets on the night were Brown and York, who had seven receptions for 91 yards and six catches for 82 yards, respectively, with a touchdown grab apiece.

On the ground for the Lions, Jaylen Jennings matched his collegiate career high with 104 rushing yards on 23 carries.

Coach Buddy Stephens' EMCC Lions will look to bounce back from their tough season-opening setback with consecutive road outings the next two Thursdays. After traveling to Raymond to take on the Hinds Eagles this coming week (Sept. 5), they will open up MACCC North Division play the following Thursday (Sept. 12) against the Rangers of Northwest Mississippi in Senatobia.