SCOOBA — East Mississippi Community College freshman wide receiver Jason Brownlee waited patiently for his first collegiate touchdown.
When the time came, the former West Point High School standout went all out and racked up some style points in making an acrobatic, one-handed catch on a pass from sophomore quarterback Vijay Miller on the side of the end zone.
The touchdown was the most exciting play of No. 1 East Mississippi Community College’s 54-13 rout of Mississippi Delta C.C. in a Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division game Thursday night at Sullivan-Windham Field.
“That was some play,” Miller said. “An ESPN SportsCenter type catch. He is so tall and long, it’s just a matter of getting it close. He has some big games ahead.”
Miller and Brownlee were off on their timing a couple of times earlier in the season. It finally clicked Thursday night.
“We are working with a pair of new quarterbacks and several new receivers,” Brownlee said. “The chemistry is getting there. Overall, this offense is hungry. We just have to have some more consistency. Personally, it was exciting to get a score. (Miller) and I have been working hard on the chemistry. We have a good connection.”
Overall, it was a sluggish night in some areas for EMCC. Still, the Lions moved to 4-0 and 2-0 in division play by scoring 50 or more points in a fourth-straight game for the first time since 2014.
EMCC finished with a season-low 419 total yards on just 57 offensive plays. The Lions received points in different ways, so while the low offensive numbers alarmed coach Buddy Stephens, he understood them to a degree.
“This team needs more than 57 plays to be the type of offense that we want to become,” Stephens said. “You will always take a 40-point win. There are some positives you take. The offense never could really find that rhythm that we have experienced for a stretch in each of the first three games.
“The defense played well. Special teams were outstanding, so you take this and are happy about the win. There will be other nights when we reach our potential of offense.”
If there was a way to score, EMCC found it. The Lions had three passing touchdowns (Miller to Dontario Drummond, Julian Conner, and Brownlee) and one rushing touchdown (Deon McIntosh). On defense, there was a 62-yard interception return by Shavoke Herrington and a safety.
On special teams, Josh Smith kicked a 37-yard field goal and seven extra points. The Lions also received a 44-yard punt return touchdown by DJ Clayton and Adrian Miller returned a punt blocked by Braden Boykin.
“To win a championship, you have to be a complete team,” Miller said. “We showed our versatility. Everybody on the team contributed.”
Stephens said multiple regulars weren’t in uniform on offense and defense. EMCC was trying to get healthy for back-to-back road games against No. 20 East Central C.C. and No. 5 Northwest Mississippi C.C.
“We have to come out and play our best games of the season each of the next two Thursdays,” Stephens said. “Hopefully, resting some players and getting some reserves in early in this game will put us in our best position possible to do just that.”
Miller was 12-for-17 for 172 yards and three touchdowns, while Messiah deWeaver was 12-for17 for 119 yards. The quarterbacks alternated after EMCC built a 31-6 lead early in the second quarter.
The Smith field goal, Herrington interception return for a touchdown, and blocked punt made it 17-0 Lions before a large percentage of the crowd was comfortably seated.
“Not sure you can say a lot of about the offense in this game because we got a lot of help from all over the place,” Brownlee said. “The main thing is being 1-0 each week, no matter how we go about doing it. Seriously, though, on offense, we haven’t scratched the surface. This is going to get even better.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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