SCOOBA — Two rushes, two incomplete passes, turnover on downs.
That was the opening drive for the No. 1 East Mississippi Community College football team on Saturday for its Homecoming game against No. 12 Jones County Junior College at Sullivan-Windham Field.
The offensive struggles didn’t last.
Chad Kelly led the Lions to 28 unanswered points in the first quarter, and EMCC cruised to a 55-0 win over Jones County J.C. It was the second shutout in two weeks for the Lions.
“We feel good about the shutout,” EMCC coach Buddy Stephens said. “I feel better about the way our guys played. They competed every play. I thought the coaches did an excellent job of getting everybody ready to play.”
It seemed like everybody played for EMCC (6-0, 3-0 MACJC North Division). Twelve receivers caught passes from Kelly, who threw for 398 yards and four touchdowns. Brandon Acker (10 catches, 163 yards, two touchdowns) was the most popular target.
“We’ve been practicing, and they’ve been kind of giving us gifts, their defense, so we’ve been going over it through the week just taking what we can get and then the big plays will open up,” Acker said. “Me and Chad (Kelly) are roommates, so we pretty much connect.”
The shutout was part of an afternoon in which EMCC won its 38 game in its last 40 decisions dating back to its first national championship in 2011. The Lions also eclipsed the 50-point mark for the fifth time in six outings this season and posted their second-straight shutout to extend their winning streak to 18 games. The reigning NJCAA national champions shut out Itawamba C.C. 51-0 last week in Fulton.
EMCC’s dominance has forced the mercy rule, in which the clock runs in the second half when a team leads by 38 points or more points, in five of the team’s six games. Still, Stephens and his staff find new things to work on every week.
“We’ve got some things we’ve got to correct,” Stephens said. “For us, in the forefront of our mind is to work on our preparation, and working hard to prepare hard and have intensity in our preparation each week.”
Acker said the key to staying motivated is one repetition at a time each week.
“Coaches always preach for us to just go hard every day at practice, and we’re just going to try to be 1-0 every week,” Acker said. “That’s the game plan, just be 1-0 each week.”
Stephens said the competitive nature of the staff and his players helps the Lions stay intense in games, even when the clock is running. Kelly’s focus keeps his offense locked in and motivated.
“Chad’s a big time competitor,” Stephens said. “He’s a fiery, intense guy that’s hyper as all get out, but when he gets on the field he does a really good job of getting it where it needs to.”
Stephens has been impressed with the competitive nature of his defense, and that the secondary has improved. The running clock in the second half prevents the Lions from executing their offense to its potential, but shutouts maintain large margins of victories for EMCC.
“We know there’s certain things we’ve got to get in practice and work on because we don’t get very many snaps with running clocks,” Stephens said. “You want a shutout. The one thing I don’t think the presidents can take away, and that our league can’t away from us, is the fact we don’t let somebody score. They’re trying to keep our scoring down, but they can’t keep us from posting goose eggs.”
The game gives EMCC five days to do what Stephens and his staff do best: Prepare. EMCC will play host to Holmes C.C. on Thursday.
“We’re just gonna keep working hard,” Acker said. “The goal for next week is to be 1-0 again. All I think about is this game is over with, so we’re just going to focus on Holmes and try to beat up on them.”
n ICC 47, Coahoma C.C. 14: At Clarksdale, the Indians turned five turnovers into 31 points and cruised to a victory against the Tigers on Saturday to stay in the chase for the playoffs.
Cartin McBride, of Calhoun City, blocked a punt and returned it 18 yards to put ICC (2-4, 2-1 MACJC North) up 14-7 before Tyler Jackson, of Oxford, added a 29-yard field goal to give the Indians a 17-7 halftime lead.
ICC built a 30-7 lead after scoring 13 points in 19 seconds. Richard McQuarley, of Meridian, jumped into the end zone on a 1-yard score. The Indians recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and scored on the first play from scrimmage when D’Andre Belton, of Ridgeway, South Carolina, found Quinn Tiggs, of Tupelo, on a 24-yard touchdown pass.
All three ICC quarterbacks three a touchdown pass in the victory. Kwadra Griggs, of Greenwood, threw for 156 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown to Lavarious Varnado, of Calhoun City. Jesse Hosket, of French Camp, threw for 91 yards and a 10-yard touchdown Grant Kimberlin, Olive Branch, to go along with Belton’s scoring toss.
ICC will play host to Northeast Mississippi C.C. (2-4, 2-2 MACJC North) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Eaton Field.
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