Coach Buddy Stephens isn’t worried that his East Mississippi Community College football team might fall to 0-2.
Or 0-3. Or 1-5. Or “0-and-anything.”
“You don’t play against that,” Stephens said. “You play to get better every day. You play to get better at blocking and tackling and pursuing the ball and giving effort.”
Those are some of the things EMCC struggled with last Thursday against Hinds, which dealt the Lions a 24-16 loss and snapped their 17-game winning streak.
The “things of basic football” are what Stephens knows his team must improve on when it faces Pearl River in the Lions’ home opener at 7 p.m. Thursday — blocking; tackling; and executing handoffs, offensive plays and a defensive game plan.
The Lions did well on the latter point against Hinds, Stephens noted, but a host of turnovers cost them. Quarterback Connor Neville was intercepted three times, and running back Keon Moore was fortunate to lose just one of his four fumbles in the game.
That lax ball security cost EMCC last week’s game, and it could again prove fatal against a Pearl River team riding the momentum of a last-second, comeback win against Itawamba.
“I think they’re playing with a lot of confidence,” Stephens said. “And I think that’s a testament to their coaching staff and the job that they’ve done.”
The Wildcats are older, and they’ve got experience, which Stephens said “means a lot in this league.”
And perhaps their best player — redshirt freshman quarterback Terrence Humphrey — is succeeding without even the benefit of that experience.
Humphrey threw for 254 yards and tossed three touchdowns to beat Itawamba, earning MACJC player of the week honors. He presents a tougher task for a strong EMCC secondary that held Hinds quarterback Elijah Walker to just 77 yards through the air last week.
Stephens praised Pearl River’s talent and execution — “They do what they do, and they do it really good, and they’re really disciplined in what they do” — but said he’s worrying about his own team a lot more than the Wildcats.
“We’ve gotta worry about us and us doing what we’re supposed to,” Stephens said. “We’re not worried about who we play. If we worry about us and making sure we line up where we’re supposed to and do the things we’re supposed to, I think that’ll help us win.”
Playing a home game for the first time since Nov. 3 should also give the Lions an advantage — one that Stephens and EMCC are ready for.
“It’s always fun to be at home, and it’s always fun to be a big part of that and play at our place,” Stephens said. “We figure our place is a very special place to play, and we’re excited about it.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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