It’s finally showtime.
After weeks of buildup, the East Mississippi Community College football team plays for the NJCAA national championship this afternoon.
The second-ranked Lions face No. 1 Arizona Western College in the El Toro Bowl presented by Time Warner Cable. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. from Veterans Memorial Stadium in Yuma, Ariz.
Today’s game will be televised locally on My Mississippi. A local radio broadcast may be heard on WFCA-FM (107.9). A video stream also will be available through the EMCC website.
Though the efforts of the NJCAA, ihigh.com and Arizona Western College’s Matador Sports Network, a live video-streamed broadcast will be available online at www.njcaatv.ihigh.com.
“This is the biggest game I have ever played in,” EMCC sophomore wide receiver Hamp Glover said. “Everybody is pumped and ready to go. We are ready to show on the national stage what our team is all about. You live to play in games like this.”
With both teams occupying the top two spots in the final NJCAA regular season Top 20, this contest appears to be for the NJCAA national championship. Arizona Western won its lone national championship in football in 1972, while EMCC has never won a national title in football. The final rankings will be released Monday.
“We feel honored to be second in the nation,” EMCC fourth-year head coach Buddy Stephens said. “It is a credit to the players and coaches in our program. We have worked very hard to get to this point. Arizona Western is a great opponent. This is an enormous opportunity for our program.”
While each team is 11-0, they have arrived at this destination with two different road maps. EMCC leads the nation in most passing categories. Arizona Western leads the nation in most rushing categories. Either way, each team has been dominant.
The Matadors are averaging 50.5 points per game and have won by an average margin of victory of 38.7 points per game. The Lions are averaging 46.7 points per game and have won by an average margin of victory of 25.8 points per game.
“You really have two different styles at work,” Arizona Western coach Tom Minnick said. “It will be a matter of who gets to do what they want to do. Obviously, you can’t turn over the football. Everybody will be ready to play. You just can’t be too ready.
“You have to let the game come to you. It should be an exciting game.”
EMCC quarterback Bo Wallace has completed 305-of-458 passes for a nation-best 4,118 yards and 46 touchdowns. Wallace has already set new NJCAA records for passing yards and total offensive yards (4,324). Wallace needs four more touchdowns to match the national mark of 50 touchdown passes thrown by Tony DeLeon of Vermilion Community College in 1992.
Freshman running back Rodriguez Moore is fifth nationally with 1,196 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Moore is EMCC’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Tampa Bay Buccaneer LeGarrette Blount reached that mark in back-to-back years in 2006 and 2007. Sophomore wide receiver Lacoltan Bester is third in the nation with 68 receptions and 980 receiving yards. Bester is second with 15 touchdown receptions.
Arizona Western has rushed for 2,776 yards this season. The Matadors also boast the nation’s leading rusher. Sophomore Damien Williams has rushed for 1,786 yards and 24 touchdowns. Williams has 11 100-yard rushing games and two 200-yard games, including a season-best 271 yards against Scottsdale Community College.
For the Matadors, freshman quarterback Cameron Coffman has completed 125-of-203 passes for 1,926 yards and 17 touchdowns.
“They are a very good offensive team,” said EMCC sophomore defensive back Justin Cox, a West Point native who leads the team with five interceptions. “We will have to control the line of scrimmage and make some stops. We can’t allow the long yardage plays.”
Arizona Western has won three straight Western States Football League championships. Even though the Matadors have made back-to-back bowl games, AWC still has not won a bowl game since 1972. EMCC has won two of the past three Mississippi state championships.
In the two teams’ only other meeting, EMCC defeated Arizona Western 27-24 in the 2009 Mississippi Bowl, was held in Biloxi.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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