SCOOBA — The wrist band is not loaded down with dozens of plays.
Actually, the hardest to stop offense in all of junior college football may also be the simplest.
“Honestly, it is not all that hard,” EMCC sophomore quarterback Dontreal Pruitt said. “Each play has like seven different options. It sounds like a whole lot. However, it is all about having speed and having play-makers. It is not like we are making it simpler than it is. Just really there is not a whole lot to it.”
No. 2 EMCC faces No. 1 Georgia Military College at 2 p.m. Sunday in the sixth Mississippi Bowl set for Biloxi High School. The winner will win this season’s National Junior College Athletic Association national championship.
EMCC leads the nation by averaging 63.2 points and 611.1 yards per contest.
Anyone who has followed EMCC head coach Buddy Stephens and offensive coordinator Marcus Wood, this should not come as a surprise. The duo has worked together for six seasons in Scooba.
“The most important aspect in this offense is the decision-making process,” Wood said. “There are multiple options and it is all about read and react. The ball needs to be snapped and gone in seconds. Everything we do is up-tempo and on the fly. The challenge is to make as many plays as possible as quickly as possible.”
For EMCC, offensive play has ranked among the nation’s best on an annual basis.
This season, Pruitt ranks second nationally in both passing yards (3,599) and touchdowns (42). Those numbers are not an abnormality, instead they are an expectation.
“Not only is it an incredible system, but it is a tremendous amount of fun,” said Ole Miss senior quarterback Bo Wallace, who led the Lions to the 2011 NJCAA nation championship. “Coach (Stephens) used to always kid that anybody could run his offense. I took that a personal challenge. I wanted to do better than anyone else had before.”
EMCC had never won a national championship before the Lions made that undefeated run in 2011. Wallace led the nation with 4,604 passing yards and 53 touchdowns.
In the preseason of that season, Stephens did indeed say he liked the growth of the offense during fall camp. He also admitted that a lot of people could flourish in the offense if it was run successfully. However, as Wallace garnered accolade after accolade it was quickly determined no one had played the quarterback position in EMCC football history quite like he did.
In the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges, it has always been a pass-happy league.
However, the national title contenders have always had a steadying force in the backfield. Wallace could hand off to Rodriguez Moore, who is now at the University of Cincinnati. Pruitt’s teammate Lakenderic Thomas has rushed for 1,086 yards this season.
“Balance is the key to a successful offense,” Stephens said. “This is a pass-first, pass-second, pass-third league. However, you have to have the balance. Probably the easiest job on the team is that of the running back. We have been blessed with really good offensive linemen. Then when you are attacking the other team with so many different pass options, the running back can go unnoticed and gain all kinds of yards.”
As the EMCC offense has continued to evolve, this season may find the unit in its most complete form. Stephens prefers a running and throwing quarterback, who can take off on a dart in a moment’s notice if any of the seven options are not available. Wallace was more of a pocket passer. Last season’s quarterback Quez Johnson, a former Starkville High standout, is now the starter at Florida Atlantic University. Johnson was more of a run-first, pass-second type quarterback.
“The best thing about the offense is that the coaches pretty much give my free reign,” Pruitt said. “If it is a situation where I feel like I can get the first down on my feet, that is what we are going to do. Even though, we have options, the decision has to be made quickly and before the other team can react.”
Adding to EMCC’s prowess this season is the depth at the quarterback. While Wallace led EMCC to the national title in 2011, Todd Mays was leading Olive Branch High School to the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A state championship. After signing with Arkansas State University, Mays is back in Scooba, serving as Pruitt’s backup. He has two seasons of eligibility at EMCC. Mays is fifth in the nation with 14 rushing touchdowns, as he runs the unit in most goal-line situations.
A year ago, EMCC finished 8-2 and lost in the semifinal round of the MACJC playoffs. In that 47-46 defeat to Copiah-Lincoln Community College, EMCC ran 108 total plays.
Johnson said the offense’s goal was simple each week.
“Two-minute drives,” Johnson said. “That was No. 1 goal of the offense. Whether it was a touchdown or a punt, coach wanted us to do it in two minutes of less. It didn’t matter where we took over on the field, the goal was simple — two minutes. That is how long we wanted to have the ball.”
Pruitt, who quarterbacked Laurel High School to the MHSAA Class 4A South State championship in 2011, laughs when asked about the two-minute drill.
“Every day in practice, we work on two minutes,” Pruitt said. “We do everything fast. We go to class fast. We eat lunch fast. We lift weight fast. We watch film fast. It’s funny when you are being recruited and you watch the offense and you are trying to keep up. Then when you are actually out there, making plays, it doesn’t seem nearly as complicated as it once did.
“The bottom line is fun. We really have fun out there. This is a team in every sense of the word. We go to work every day and really enjoy what we are doing.”
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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