SCOOBA — The state’s best Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges North Division rivalry took an odd turn last season when EMCC defeated Northwest Mississippi C.C. 79-7 on the way to its second National Junior College Athletic Association national championship.
EMCC won all 12 games it played for the second time in three seasons. Northwest won one game and a week later changed coaches for a third-straight season.
Northwest’s fall from grace has been swift. With Buddy Stephens at EMCC, the Lions have beaten the Rangers five out of six tries. However, the first five series meetings were decided by a touchdown or less. Each game included dramatic finishes full of big plays. Each game had a huge bearing on the North Division race. Last season, EMCC clinched the division with a win at Northwest. However, the final score was a foregone conclusion, especially after a school-record 51-point third quarter.
The stakes are back to normal, even if Northwest isn’t back among the nation’s elite. The North Division championship will be on the line when top-ranked EMCC (7-0, 4-0 division) plays Northwest (3-4, 3-1) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Bobby Franklin Field in Senatobia.
“We have some really great games with Northwest, and it always seem a like a championship of some sort is on the line,” Stephens said. “The main thing is we have to keep getting better. We know what it takes to have a perfect season. This team has the chance to be great, but we aren’t there yet.”
EMCC ran its two-season winning streak to 19 last Thursday with a 49-0 victory against Holmes C.C. The victory was the third-0straight shutout in the series and the third-straight shutout this season.
EMCC has allowed 38 points this season after notching a school-record five shutouts a season ago.
“We are having a lot of fun on defense,” EMCC sophomore linebacker Lorenzo Phillips said. “The biggest thing for our defense is communication. It seems like everybody knows what everybody else on the defense is going to do. We just try to stay within ourselves and play our role. As long as we do that, everything will work out just fine.”
EMCC hasn’t trailed this season and has won by an average margin of 51.9 points per game, despite a new “mercy rule” being instituted for MACJC games.
EMCC is averaging roughly 20 plays less per game this season but is still racking up monster numbers. The shutout streak has included wins over Itawamba C.C. (51-0), Jones Junior College (55-0), and Holmes.
On offense, Chad Kelly is third in the nation with 2,329 passing yards. Brandon Acker is 18th in the nation with a team-best 567 receiving yards. The EMCC rushing numbers have taken a hit since many second halves have featured a running clock.
“We have started slow a couple of games, and that is not like us,” EMCC sophomore running back Preston Baker said. “We take great pride in coming out the gates ready to roll. We have some things we have been working on. The important thing is to be playing your best at the end of the season. Hopefully, we will be ready to do that.”
Northwest is under the direction of first-year coach Jack Wright. The Rangers have bounced back from an overtime-loss to Northeast Mississippi C.C. by taking division games from Mississippi Delta C.C., Itawamba C.C., and Holmes C.C..
Northwest lost its three South Division games by a combined 78 points.
EMCC will clinch a seventh-straight playoff berth with a win or a Mississippi Delta loss to ICC. A win also will give EMCC its fourth-straight division title, and sixth in seven seasons.
Northwest will return to the playoffs with a win Thursday or a win in its regular-season finale against Coahoma C.C.
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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