SCOOBA — East Mississippi Community College quarterbacks won’t have any problem finding a wide receiver this season.
At times, it’s hard narrowing the options to one because the Lions have plenty of weapons on the outside.
That was evident Thursday, as Wyatt Roberts and John Franklin III found eight wideouts and one running back in No. 7 EMCC’s 69-0 victory against Coahoma C.C.
“You can never have too many,” EMCC eighth-year coach Buddy Stephens said. “I think when you look at our depth, I think we’re as deep and have as good a wide receiving corp as anybody in this state, four-year school or otherwise.”
Sophomore Allenzae Staggers led EMCC receivers with four catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned two punts for scores. Sophomore Sammie Burroughs had three catches for 37 yards, freshman Brooks Shannon had two catches for 80 yards and a touchdown, freshman Damion Willis had one catch for 53 yards and a score, freshman Mario Lanier had two grabs for 22 yards, sophomore Corey Davis had one catch for 9 yards, sophomore Dario Robinson had one grab for 6 yards, and sophomore Isaiah Jones had a one catch for a 4-yard touchdown. Sophomore running back D.J. Law caught three passes for 32 yards.
“We can be an elite (group),” Burroughs said. “We all have different talents. I can be quick. We have Stag who can go after the deep ball and make acrobatic catches. We’ve got Shannon, he’s just an elite fast player. Defenses don’t know what to do with us, and we’re going to use it to the best of our ability.”
Burroughs, a former Aberdeen High School standout, had his freshman season cut short after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in one of his knees while scoring a touchdown in the early last season. He has worked his way back to become a leader and another weapon for a talented offense.
Entering the game, EMCC (2-1) had 12 players with a catch in the first two games. Robinson was the only player with double digit catches (10 for 133 yards). Wright was the only receiver with multiple touchdowns (two).
“As a quarterback, it makes it nice when you’ve got athletes around you that you can get the ball to in space to make plays,” said Roberts, a sophomore and a former standout at Louisville High. “It’s a great feeling being the quarterback.”
Roberts, who started, was 16 of 21 for 324 yards and five touchdowns. He gave way to Franklin in the second half. Franklin was 2 of 8 for 14 yards with a running clock.
Roberts found Shannon for a 43 yard touchdown early in the first quarter to give the Lions a 7-0 lead.
“I think we’re pretty great at receiver,” said Shannon, who played at North Pontotoc High last season. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can come in and do just as good as the first group.”
Roberts hit Jones for a 4-yard touchdown in the first quarter and found Staggers for a 44-yard score in the second quarter. He hit Willis for a 53-yard score and connected with Staggers again for a 41-yard touchdown before the opening half was finished.
“I don’t know what Wyatt is thinking back there. We have a lot of great receivers and we all can catch,” Shannon said.
The Lions threw for 338 yards and had 600 yards of offense. With numerous wide receivers contributing, EMCC showed it has explosive offense with plenty of options.
“We’ve got receivers throughout the depth chart that can catch a ball and make plays in space,” Roberts said. “It definitely puts pressure on the defense on who to guard and who to target.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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