WESSON — The streak is over.
When Jaquarius Landrews intercepted a Wyatt Roberts pass and then fell to the turf, one of the biggest celebrations in the history of H.L. Stone Stadium took place.
No. 4 Copiah-Lincoln Community College defeated No. 1 East Mississippi C.C. 31-24 in overtime before a capacity crowd Thursday night. The celebration included players, coaches, and fans flooding the field.
The loss snapped EMCC’s three-season winning streak at 25 games. The Lions fell one win shy of matching the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) record for consecutive wins. EMCC’s last loss was a 47-46 setback to Co-Lin in the semifinals of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) state playoffs in 2012.
This loss was excruciating considering EMCC erased a 10-point halftime deficit to take a 24-17 lead on a 56-yard touchdown pass from Roberts to Dario Robinson with 2 minutes, 42 seconds left in regulation.
But the game might have been lost in the first half when EMCC was denied twice in the red zone.
“I didn’t do enough,” EMCC sophomore running back D.J. Law said. “I let my team down because I didn’t enough to help us win the game. If you are inside the 10-yard line, you have to score. I don’t feel like I did what I needed to do. All of us feel that way right now. This really hurts.”
Co-Lin answered with an eight-play, 61-yard drive that Lakedric Lee capped with a 5-yard run. Greg Nickles’ extra point tied the game and set the stage for the first overtime game in Buddy Stephens’ eight seasons as head coach at EMCC.
“This is the best feeling in the world,” Lee said. “We worked hard for four quarters and that wasn’t even enough. We believed and we worked hard. (EMCC) has been the best team in the nation for quite some time. For one thing, we weren’t intimidated.”
EMCC steamrolled Co-Lin 54-15 in last season’s state championship game. However, that wasn’t enough to deter Rivals from ranking Co-Lin preseason No. 1 in its JuCoGridiron.com poll. EMCC was ranked No. 1 in the first two NJCAA polls of the season.
Co-Lin backed its ranking by collecting 520 yards and 27 first downs. The Wolfpack moved the ball consistently even though they twice missed field goals and committed two other critical turnovers.
Still, the story might have been the Co-Lin defense. Leading 17-7, the Wolfpack made back-to-back stops, including a fourth-and-goal at their 2-yard line. One possession later, Co-Lin made a stop on fourth-and-1 at its 7.
“We are usually automatic down there,” Stephens said. “We didn’t play well enough to win the game. This was Co-Lin’s Super Bowl and we struggled to match that enthusiasm. We will come back and work hard next week. There is a lot of football left to be played.”
EMCC overcame the setbacks in the first half to seize the momentum and eventually the lead.
On the first possession of the second half, Co-Lin fumbled and Gary McCrae recovered. One play later, Roberts hit Law for an 18-yard touchdown.
On the next possession, EMCC’s T.J. Jallow made an interception. Jallow barely stepped out of bounds, just missing out on an 88-yard interception return. Instead, the Lions started at midfield.
EMCC didn’t score on that possession, but it was just a matter of time. C.J. Reavis’ second third-down pass breakup stopped Co-Lin’s next threat.
This time, EMCC moved 64 yards on 10 plays. A Grayson Pontius field goal tied the game at 17.
“We felt like if we ever got the lead, we would be in good shape,” Roberts said. “We were battling uphill all night long. We weren’t in sync like we needed to be on offense.”
Roberts had barely missed two deep ball connections during the game. The third worked clicked, as Roberts hit a streaking Robinson over the middle. He had two steps on the defense and easily scored for a 24-17 lead.
“To our kids’ credit, they didn’t give up,” Co-Lin coach Glenn Davis said. “Normally when EMCC delivers the kill shot, the other team crumbles. We had played well on offense even though we had missed on some scoring chances. There was a lot of determination when we got the ball back. We knew that was enough time to make something happen.”
The defense of Reavis, Jalen Boney, and De’Arius Christmas set the tone for EMCC’s comeback. While Reavis had the critical pass breakups, Christmas broke through the protection twice for monster sacks. Ezekiel Rose also had a couple of quarterback hurries in the comeback.
But the Wolfpack drove 61 yards on eight plays in 2:10. Co-Lin picked up three first downs and didn’t face a third down.
In overtime, Co-Lin went first. The Lions appeared to have a field goal try forced with a pass breakup on third-and-4 at the EMCC 19. However, a pass interference penalty was called. Lee caught the game-winner from Garrett Kruzcek on the next snap.
On EMCC’s possession, Law ripped off a 14-yard game to move the ball to the Co-Lin 15. EMCC’s second turnover happened on the next play.
“I made a bad read,” said Roberts, who was 19 of 35 for 313 yards with three touchdowns. “I should have gone in the other direction with it. We had some momentum on that drive, too. We knew we might lose a game. All we can do is go from here and keep winning. We want to make sure we see them again.”
John Franklin III made his first career start at quarterback for EMCC. Franklin fumbled on the first possession, but he returned for the team’s next two possessions before giving way to Roberts for the rest of the game. After the game, Stephens said Franklin wasn’t injured.
What was injured was the Lions’ pride. EMCC will have to work its way to a third-straight national championship appearance the hard way. A potential rematch with Co-Lin with for this year’s state championship would be in Scooba.
“We have a really good football team,” Stephens said. “It’s our job as coaches to put them in a position to win games like this. I am looking forward to see how we respond. There is a lot of hard work ahead. We will get there.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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