SCOOBA — East Mississippi Community College sophomore wide receiver Allenzae Staggers received some alarming news Sunday during film session.
“Coach pulled me aside and told me I would be fielding punts (Thursday night),” Staggers said. “In all my years of playing football, I had never done that. I didn’t tell coach that. I just knew this would be another opportunity, so I decided to go with it.”
After seeing a 25-game winning streak snapped in an overtime loss at Copiah-Lincoln C.C., EMCC coach Buddy Stephens knew some changes were in order.
The new wrinkles worked to perfection Thursday night at Sullivan-Windham Field. Staggers returned two punts for touchdowns and several others chipped in as No. 7 EMCC opened Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges North Division play with a 69-0 rout of Coahoma C.C.
Staggers, a former prep standout at Wilkinson County High School, said after the game he dedicated his efforts to his grandmother, Wendy Slan. Slan attends most games, but she watched Thursday night’s performance through the school’s video stream.
“I wanted to have a special game for her,” Staggers said. “I bet when I get back to the locker room, I will have missed a phone call.”
Staggers was special all night. He had four receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns. The punt returns covered 35 and 81 yards and capped his four-touchdown night.
EMCC was ranked No. 1 in the nation prior to an overtime loss at Copiah-Lincoln C.C. last week. In that game, EMCC scored with less than three minutes remaining in regulation but allowed a game-tying touchdown in regulation and a game-winning score in overtime. That setback led to some soul searching in the EMCC locker room. The Lions then took the field with a passion, playing a regular-season game after a regular-season loss for the first time since 2010.
“Proud of the effort,” Stephens said. “Every player came out of that locker room on a mission tonight. Last week was so tough and disappointing. It was mainly disappointing because you didn’t play to your potential. Tonight we came out and took care of business.”
Staggers said the squad was humbled by the loss. He also said nothing was different in practice because the team knows how much football is left to be played.
“We just had to get back to playing Lion football,” Staggers said. “We had a misstep, but that does not mean the season is over. We just had to come out and get back to the basics. We had to do things better.”
EMCC won its 13th-straight division game by rolling up 600 yards of offense. Quarterback Wyatt Roberts was 16 of 21 for 324 yards with five touchdowns. Staggers was the top pass-receiving target, while Brooks Shannon, Isaiah Jones, and Damian Willis also scored touchdowns.
EMCC rushed for 262 yards on 23 carries. Freshman Jacquez Horsley, a former standout at Starkville High, racked up his second 100-yard rushing game in three weeks (six rushes, 112 yards). Horsley and Isaiah Wright had rushing touchdowns.
“We had a little more fun tonight,” Horsley said. “Losing a game is different. Everybody came out and was in shock for a little while. As practice went on, we got back to work. We know we are a good team, so we just have to keep working hard to get better.”
EMCC (2-1, 1-0 division) scored on seven of eight first-half possessions. Another great defensive stand set up a punt in the waning seconds of the first half. Staggers ran the kick back 35 yards for a 56-0 halftime advantage as the horn sounded.
“I just knew I had to take one back,” Staggers said. “I really wanted to validate coach in letting me (return punts). I have never returned kicks, not even in high school or junior high. I got some advice from D.J. (Law). He didn’t let me down. I never dreamed I could do it twice. After I ran the first one back, I got excited.”
Thanks to a running clock, the second half included only 31 plays. Wright scored on a 26-yard run and Staggers took another punt back 81 yards. A third return didn’t go the distance but totaled 55 yards.
“It was good to see the smiles again,” Stephens said. “We worked them pretty hard this week.”
The defense posted its 11th shutout in the past three seasons. The Lions held the Tigers to 73 yards on 48 offensive plays. The lone takeaway was a fumble forced by Fred Walls and recovered by Malik Mayweather.
The best scoring threat for Coahoma (0-3, 0-1) was a 40-yard field goal that was blocked by C.J. Reavis late in the first half.
“That game showed our true identity,” Reavis said. “That is what we are all about.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.