The East Mississippi Community College football program has finally paid the bill in full.
The Lions had remained in a time warp since the end of the 2015 regular season. On the final night of that season, players from EMCC and Mississippi Delta Community College were involved in a benches-clearing brawl. The 10-minute skirmish saw both benches empty onto the field. The contest was called with less than a minute left in the first half. EMCC was awarded a 48-0 victory.
From that night on, the program has been working its way through unchartered territory.
The Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges banned EMCC from the playoffs. After winning MACJC state titles in 2013 and 2014, EMCC was not allowed to play for last season’s title.
The hopes for a third straight National Junior College Athletic Association national championship were also dashed.
Players and coaches then lived through an off-season of scrutiny with many wondering about the future of coach Buddy Stephens and the overall direction of the program.
The playoffs were held and rival Northwest Mississippi Community College took advantage of EMCC’s absence to win both the MACJC and NJCAA titles.
Recruiting did not take a hit with EMCC again taking in the state’s best talent and also getting a huge boost with multiple transfers from NCAA Division I programs.
In July, Netflix unveiled “Last Chance U,” a six-part documentary giving a behind-the-scenes look at the program. The series again brought the lowlights of last season to the forefront.
In August, players and coaches were ready to move on. Apparently, the nation was too, with EMCC beginning the season ranked No. 1 in the nation for the fourth time in five seasons.
Still, there was one last surcharge. Returning players who participated in the brawl could not dress for this year’s season-opener.
With only 32 players dressed out, EMCC battled hard but fell to Jones County Junior College 27-25 last Thursday in Ellisville.
Many felt the regional directors who vote on the NJCAA panel would not penalize EMCC too harshly for losing a game with slightly better than half a team. Those people were wrong.
EMCC fell to 12th in the rankings – its first week outside of the Top 10 for the first time since back-to-back losses to end the 2012 season.
Now with a full roster of players and coaches, EMCC begins its redemption tour Thursday night at No. 17 Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
Gulf Coast began fourth in the nation but also free-fell after falling 23-12 to Itawamba Community College in the season opener.
EMCC is out to blood. The Lions have always wanted to be better than and win bigger than anyone else. Now with the feeling that the MACJC is out to get them, the high-octane offense will now really be ready go full-throttle.
It was a major plus that the national pollsters overlooked last season’s ending and ranked EMCC No. 1. It was a major negative the squad fell 11 spots after playing a game in which defensive lineman had to switch to the offensive line in the middle of the game.
A year ago, EMCC also began first in the nation but fell to seventh after a second-week loss at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. EMCC caught the right breaks and had muscled its way to third in the rankings before the brawl ended the season.
This year, EMCC will again be working its way from the ground up. The goal of the program is now simple – win a national championship. The belief is ever year that can happen.
However, for EMCC to win its fourth title in six seasons, the margin for error is indeed gone.
Thursday’s game with Gulf Coast is actually a must-win for both teams to stay in the hunt.
In the latest NJCAA rankings, Copiah-Lincoln Community College is fourth; Northwest is sixth; Itawamba Community College is 11th and Jones is 15th.
EMCC has already played Jones. The Lions play at Gulf Coast, play at Itawamba and play host to Northwest. A potential matchup with Co-Lin could take place in the playoffs.
Jones has one of the weaker schedules in the state, so the good news is the Bobcats should have staying power in the rankings.
When the strength of schedule and computer rankings are added to the poll in the fourth week of the season then EMCC’s numbers will jump even higher. It appears the MACJC North Division is much stronger this season, which also bodes well for the Lions.
There is little question the talent level is high. Junior college insiders indicate this is Stephens’ best team. Even with slightly more than half the roster, a fumble on the 3-yard line is the only thing that kept EMCC from victory in the opener.
After a long long wait, the season begins for real Thursday night. Gulf Coast will present quite the challenge. It will be interesting to see if EMCC remains in a fog or if business as usual starts back Thursday night.
EMCC has paid an extremely large price for a fight it didn’t start in the last 10 months. Fortunately, the debt is no longer in collections.
Scott Walters is a sports writer for The Dispatch. He may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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