SCOOBA — East Mississippi Community College football coach Buddy Stephens rarely resorts to bulletin board material.
EMCC has won the last two National Junior College Athletic Association national championships so the big game does not intimate them. A need for extra motivation does not exist either when a team has won 25 straight games.
This week, however, is a tad bit different.
EMCC is ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA rankings, while this week’s opponent Copiah-Lincoln Community College is ranked fourth. However, in the Rivals JCGridiron.com Dirty Thirty rankings, Co-Lin is the nation’s top-ranked team, while EMCC is ranked No. 7.
The teams meet at 7 p.m. Thursday in Wesson.
“You could say (the Rivals rankings) have been mentioned once or twice,” EMCC freshman defensive back Alex Lipscomb said. “I think we all did a double-take, because it has been a while since this program was in the underdog role. It’s not a disrespect or a slight. We just know it is something we can control on the field.”
EMCC throttled Co-Lin 54-15 in last season’s Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges state championship game, also played in Wesson. In the regular season, EMCC won 46-10 in Scooba. The last Co-Lin win in the series was ironically EMCC’s last loss — a 47-46 win by the Wolves in the semifinal round of the 2012 MACJC playoffs.
“I always thought if you were No. 1, you were No. 1 until somebody else beat you,” EMCC sophomore running back D.J. Law said. “We have had fun with it in practice. It’s not that big a deal, because we know we have the game to be played. We have a lot new guys on this team so we are still getting everything figured out. Hopefully, we will be up to the challenge.”
EMCC had five freshman start in a season-opening 69-20 win over Southwest Mississippi Community College. The Lions also started several sophomores, who were getting their first career start. The newness showed as Southwest built a 14-7 lead. It was only the third time in the win streak that EMCC trailed in a game.
Order was quickly restored with the home team scoring the final 20 points of the half and later exploding for 28 points in the third quarter.
“We had some guys really getting their first meaningful playing time,” Stephens said. “Being really young is really something that we are not used to around here. It won’t ever be used as an excuse because we have some talent. This may be the best set of skilled players we have had here.”
Louisville native Wyatt Roberts drew his first start at quarterback. Roberts alternated with Florida State quarterback John Franklin III. Both threw for better than 180 yards apiece with a combined four rushing touchdowns. EMCC was also the only MACJC team with two 100-yard rushers in the opening weekend as both Law and Starkville High freshman Jacquez Horsley cleared that mark. The other running back — freshman Isaiah Wright — wowed the crowd with a 99-yard kickoff return.
“To be able (to go over 100 yards) in your first game is sweet,” Horsley said. “This offense is certainly capable. Right now, we have a bunch of guys, like myself, trying to figure out what it takes to play on this level. Fortunately, we got a great group of teammates. The sophomores helps the new guys out every day in practice. We are leaning what it takes to be a Lion.”
The learning curve will be accelerated this week. Co-Lin enters the contest after a season-opening 26-14 win over Itawamba Community College. That victory moved the Wolves from seventh to fourth in the NJCAA rankings. The Rival ranks were preseason marks as the new poll had not been released at press time.
Still, Co-Lin had its scare in the opener, thanks in large part to struggles in special teams. Special teams were the deciding factor in both meetings with EMCC a year ago.
The Wolves were down 14-10 at halftime.
“Co-Lin has an outstanding team,” said Stephens, who has won four of six career meetings in the series. “We have formed quite a rivalry with them over the years. Our guys will have to grow up a lot more Thursday night. At the end of the day, we have the same goal. We want to be 1-0 when the week ends. That has always been the goal. For the last 25 weeks we have played, we have achieved that goal.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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