As the calendar prepares to turn to August, preparations are underway for another season of Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges football.
The decade has certainly belonged to EMCC with the Lions winning four state championships and three national championships since the decade began.
Often times, the talent in the league is overshadowed by the fact that EMCC routs its opposition more often than not.
Already the preseason rankings indicate another strong year is in store.
In the JuCoGridiron.com Dirty Thirty, EMCC is ranked No. 2 nationally, while Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is No. 6. Also in the rankings: No. 15 Copiah-Lincoln Community College and No. 18 Northwest Mississippi Community College. Northeast Mississippi Community College, Holmes Community College, Jones Junior College, East Central Community College and Itawamba Community College were also under consideration.
Let’s look ahead to the must-see games for the 2017 season:
Week 1 — Itawamba at Gulf Coast (Aug. 31)
Sean Cannon’s fourth season as coach will be a big one at Itawamba.
Under his watch, the Indians have been competitive and enjoyed a fair share of upsets. After back-to-back 4-2 records in North Division play, last season’s squad finished 2-4.
The five overall wins included a 23-12 upset of then-No. 4 Gulf Coast in last season’s opener.
The Indians could not build off that milestone win a year ago but did finish 3-0 against the South Division.
Week 2 — Gulf Coast at EMCC (Sept. 7)
On paper, EMCC and Gulf Coast have formed quite the rivalry with each being ranked in the Top 10 nationally during most series meetings.
On the field, EMCC has been dominant, winning eight of 10 matchups under Buddy Stephens.
Last season, EMCC played its best game of the year in a 45-7 win on the coast. The playoff rematch was far more dramatic with EMCC rallying in the final minutes for a 27-24 victory.
The good news is it is easy to lose one early and still win a national championship.
Week 3 — Gulf Coast at Copiah-Lincoln (Sept. 14)
Few games will help define the South Division race better than this huge showdown in Wesson.
Last season, Co-Lin finished 7-2 but a head-scratching loss at Hinds kicked the Wolves out of the playoff hunt.
Lofty national rankings have been coming Co-Lin’s way; however, off-the-field issues really plagued each of the last two seasons.
Co-Lin is again expected to have the biggest offensive line in the state. This matchup at home will be a chance to prove their worth.
Week 4 — Copiah-Lincoln at Jones (Sept. 21)
After opening the season with EMCC, back-to-back breathers against Mississippi Delta Community College and Coahoma Community College should make Jones feel good entering their South Division opener.
Jones won its first three last season and moved as high as sixth in the national rankings before dropping a 27-22 heart-breaker at Co-Lin.
The South Division race will again be murky this season. It appears Co-Lin and Gulf Coast will be the front-runners. However, there have been a few slip-ups in this division in each of the past two seasons.
For Jones to be a contender, a win here at home is a must.
Week 5 — Northwest at Holmes (Sept. 28)
Typically, Ras Branch Stadium in Goodman is not where you will find one of the state’s best matchups.
However, the junior college season will race past the halfway point when these North Division rivals meet on the Holmes campus.
A year ago, Holmes kept its playoff hopes alive until late in the season. The Bulldogs lost by two touchdowns to both Northwest and EMCC. Holmes recovered nicely with three straight wins to end the season, including a win over Iowa Western College at the Graphic Edge Bowl — the school’s first-ever bowl win.
It is difficult to win at Holmes but Northwest will need to do just that to keep division title hopes alive.
Week 6 — East Central at Jones (Oct. 5)
The MACJC’s biggest surprise of late has been East Central Community College.
East Central won its first division title since 1970 last season. The Warriors did finish 5-5 overall but were able to pick up division wins over Gulf Coast, Jones and Pearl River Community College in the same season for the first time this century. The year ended with a home loss to Northwest in the opening round of the MACJC playoffs.
A year ago, East Central knocked Jones from playoff consideration with a 37-24 win in Decatur.
East Central finished 10th nationally in 2015. We will see if Ken Karcher’s fifth team can keep the momentum.
Week 7 — EMCC at Northwest (Oct. 12)
As the season hits the final third, we will be talking championships when these North Division rivals collide in Senatobia.
Stephens has also taken the excitement out of this rivalry, with nine win in 10 tries against the Rangers. However, Northwest has closed the gap and 79-7 victories are a thing of the past.
Last season, EMCC survived some early struggles to beat Northwest 38-30 in the state championship game.
This could be the first of two meetings as well.
Week 8 — Hinds at Jones (Oct. 21)
It has been 20 years since Jones hit a two-point conversion in the final seconds to shock then-No. 1 Hinds, derailing national championship hopes.
Hopefully, this installment of the rivalry will deliver the same excitement.
While Hinds has remained competitive under Gene Murphy in his second stint as coach, the championship success has not followed. An injury-plagued set of Eagles finished 2-7 last season.
If the South Division race is not settled by this time on the calendar, this contest could be huge.
Week 9 — Northwest at Northeast (Oct. 28)
A year ago a playoff berth was on the line when these rivals met in a Top 10 clash in Senatobia.
Northwest took a convincing 48-6 victory and later beat East Central, before falling to EMCC in the state championship game.
Northeast continues to make strides in closing the gap. Perhaps, this is the year Greg Davis’ crew breaks through.
The playoff race will be in focus by the time we reach late October. Hopefully, the race will be exciting while we get there.
Scott Walters is a sports reporter for the Commercial Dispatch. He may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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