SCOOBA – East Mississippi Community College football coach Buddy Stephens seems to have already gotten over his team winning two straight Junior College national championships.
He has his eyes on a three-peat.
“I keep telling our guys last year doesn’t matter anymore,” Stephens said. “This is a different year.”
EMCC has already been anointed as the team to beat in 2019 by prognosticators, as the Lions were ranked No. 1 in the National Junior College Athletic Association preseason poll. After winning four of the past six NJCAA national titles, EMCC considers any year that doesn’t result in a ring a lost season.
To help fill its ever-changing roster, the Lions have tapped into a state powerhouse at the high school level. EMCC listed 12 players from West Point on its preseason roster, nine of them freshmen.
“We can’t get rid of them,” EMCC sophomore wide receiver and West Point native Jason Brownlee said with a laugh. “They just follow us everywhere.”
The West Point newcomers hope to join their former high school teammates Brownlee, sophomore defensive lineman Terence Cherry and sophomore defensive back Tray Brownlee as players that have won a championship at both the high school and collegiate level.
“It doesn’t get much better than that,” said the 6-foot-2, 250-pound Cherry, who had four sacks and two forced fumbles a year ago. “When I look at my fingers and see a few rings on it, I get joyful and excited.”
It’s unclear how many of the nine West Point freshmen will make the Lions’ roster, which has to be down to 55 players by Wednesday. EMCC is allowed to keep five non-scholarship athletes on the roster for practice purposes, however.
“I think the West Point football program has been very good to us,” Stephens said. “We’re excited about all the kids that we get from there. (Green Wave head coach) Chris Chambless does a terrific job every year and one of the best jobs in the entire state.”
The three returning West Point alumni seem to have a firm grasp on a roster spot. Brownlee, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound speedster is expected to be a primary target at receiver after catching 14 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown in 2018.
“With Brownlee, he understands the game more this year and yes, he’s an SEC guy without a doubt,” Stephens said. “It’s just going to depend on if he has a good year, where he’ll land and how many SEC offers he’s going to have.”
Pairing up with Brownlee to form a potentially explosive receiving corps is former Noxubee County standout Rashad Eades.
“Eades I think is going to be the breakout star in the league this year,” Stephens said. “Because he’s so dynamic in what he does and he’s healthy. That’s a big thing, he wasn’t real healthy last year. He brings so many different things to the table. He’s that steady guy every day you need in practice.”
Eades, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound sophomore, caught 14 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns a season ago.
“I have this drive to keep this tradition going,” Eades said. “I don’t want to let this program down. None of us want to be the class that lets this whole program down.”
The Lions used one of their eight allotted out-of-state roster spots on Washington State transfer Connor Neville. Neville is expected to see the majority of time at quarterback, with Fannin native Jamari Jones and West Point native Jake Chambless also in the mix.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound sophomore signal caller did not see the field in his two years at Washington State.
“In its own ways, Scooba is a little different (than Washington State),” Neville said. “You have to admire that everyone’s family around here, though. Because of the lack of things to do around here, you kind of have to bond with all these guys.”
EMCC opens its season at 7 p.m. Thursday on the road against Hinds Community College with a 17-game winning streak on the line.
The Lions’ last loss was a 61-38 defeat against Northwest Mississippi Community College on Oct. 12, 2017. EMCC later defeated NMCC in the MACJC championship that same year and eventually won the national title.
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