SCOOBA — East Mississippi Community College freshman defensive back Alexander Lipscomb hit the weight room earlier than expected this offseason.
“Just about the next day (after his team’s final game), I was (in the weight room),” said Lipscomb, who was a standout at Columbus High School. “The ending of this season really burned me. I think we all feel that way. Next year, it is on.”
EMCC saw its season cut short after a brawl in its final regular season game against Mississippi Delta C.C. in Moorhead. Leading 48-0 with 59 seconds left in the first half, the game was called after about a 10-minute altercation that included several skirmishes on the Jim Randall Stadium playing surface.
By the time order was finally restored, officials called the game. The next day, the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges officially awarded EMCC its 18th-straight MACJC North Division win. It also banned EMCC from postseason play, since players leaving the bench area is an automatic two-game suspension.
The MACJC ruled EMCC wouldn’t have had enough players to play what would have been an Oct. 31 MACJC semifinal game against East Central C.C.. Though canceled, that game counts as a game served on the suspension. Returning players who were suspended won’t be allowed to play in next season’s opener.
“It hurts because they took everything we had been working for all season away from us,” said EMCC freshman running Jacquez Horsley, who played at Starkville High. “I am not sure what we were supposed to do.”
EMCC coach Buddy Stephens said his players showed “great restraint” in a challenging first half. A pregame altercation left an EMCC manager needing stitches. The first half saw seven personal fouls called. Finally, chaos ensued when EMCC sophomore running back D.J. Law was tackled hard out of bounds and got into a fight with three Mississippi Delta players while trying to get back on his feet.
“It was a bad situation from a player’s standpoint,” Lipscomb said. “One of our players got into scuffle with one of their players. Our sideline cleared. From that point on, our motive was to break it up and protect our family. We work together all summer from May 24 up until now, so the bond we have is more of a family instead of a teammate. If you see a family member being pummeled or being stomped on, your first reaction is to run out there and save him.”
EMCC has beaten Delta 293-0 in the last five meetings. Stephens has won eight series meetings against the Trojans.
With the one-sided nature of the series, the EMCC coaching staff stressed the potential chippy nature of the game before it was played.
“They preached it to us every day in practice (that week),” Lipscomb said. “They told us to keep their heads. They told us what was going to happen. When it happens, though, that all goes out the window. You just totally forget what you have been coached and taught. Our objective was to try to go up the (national rankings). Our goal was not to embarrass them. We were trying to get as many points as possible to keep our (national championship) hopes alive.
“The coaches told us this would be a test of our character. They told us to stay on the sidelines during the game. Coaches told us (Delta) had nothing to lose and we had everything to lose. They told us they would control the situation. It’s hard when you see what we saw.”
Stephens said the Mississippi Delta coaches and law enforcement did nothing to stop the melee. He applauded EMCC assistant coach Cliff Collins for being one of the first to arrive on the other team’s sidelines.
Horsley said the urge to cross the field and help his teammate couldn’t be fought.
“I saw our brother (Law) down in a pile,” Horsley said. “He is being kicked. The coaches told us to stop right there and not go out on the field. We did stop, but then the fight kept going. Everything was already in motion. We lost it on our sidelines.”
Horsley said some of the older players also had talked about the dangers of playing a team with no playoff hopes in front of a sparse crowd with little to no security present.
“We knew it was going to be a bad game,” Horsley said. “We were fearing the worst. The worst happened.”
Stephens said he saw one cop on the field when the altercation started.
EMCC Athletic Director Mikey Stokes said the school will take more preventative measures when it plays games away from home. The players will be better prepared for the situation and the likelihood of the school increasing its security detail is high.
EMCC has several months to put the new plan in place. The 2013 season was the last time EMCC began the year not coming off a national championship. The Lions will be heavily favored to return to the title game in 2016 despite playing short-handed in the season opener.
“The offseason just got more intense,” Horsley said. “We are going to pound everybody next year. We want those rings. They won’t be taking anything away from us next year.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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