East Mississippi Community College head coach Buddy Stephens is 11-0 in his coaching career against Mississippi Delta, and there’s little reason not to expect that record to improve to 12-0 when EMCC visits Delta on Thursday.
The Trojans enter Thursday’s game at 7 p.m. in Moorhead with an 0-3 record thanks to the handiwork of three ranked teams: No. 3 Northwest Mississippi, No. 4 Mississippi Gulf Coast and No. 19 Hinds.
While Delta did fare better against Hinds than EMCC did — Delta lost to Hinds by just two points; the Lions lost by eight — there’s not much reason to expect anything but another EMCC blowout — much like the 54-13 win last year in Scooba and the 45-7 win in 2017 in Moorhead that EMCC recently handed Delta.
The Lions have more than righted the ship since the upset loss in Raymond to open their season, blowing out Pearl River and Itawamba in consecutive weeks. Quarterback Connor Neville has played lights out since an uneven performance against Hinds, cutting back on turnovers and driving the ball down the field well.
Neville suffered a minor leg injury in the first quarter against Itawamba, so freshman Jamari Jones finished out the game. Stephens said after the Lions finished off the rout that Neville was expected back against Delta — and that freshman Jake Chambless, son of West Point head coach Chris Chambless, should see some snaps at quarterback. How much Chambless plays Thursday remains to be seen.
No matter who EMCC’s quarterback is, strong play by the Lions’ receiving corps should provide a stable offensive base. Jason Brownlee and Pervis Frazier have led the way, with fellow sophomore Austin Morphis also stepping up.
On the defensive side of things, sophomore Terence Cherry leads the team with three sacks and three forced fumbles, and Shavoke’ Herrington leads the secondary with two interceptions on the season.
Clearly, the Lions have shown they have more than enough talent to control the contest, and if EMCC wants to prove it can contend for the national championship, it needs to post a blowout win Thursday.
Mississippi Delta will live-stream Thursday’s game at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm5e4ZsFm6LYxdPcUJ6pLlQ, and an alternate audio stream of EMCC’s radio broadcast will be available online at wfca.fm.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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