All the way back on Aug. 28, East Mississippi Community College opened its football season with a 41-21 loss to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, and last Saturday the Lions ended their season in a loss of similar score to the red-hot then-No. 7 Bulldogs in the MACCC semifinals.
Ranked at No. 9 in the NJCAA standings, EMCC (7-3) lost control of a 17-14 lead at halftime and was outscored 31-7 the rest of the way as its five-game winning streak and its postseason run was halted, 45-24.
A 20-field goal by Hayden Houpt, a 33-yard pass from quarterback Trey Irving III to Noreel White and a 1-yard run by Gavin Griffin were the scoring plays for the Lions in the first half to match two touchdowns throws by Bulldogs quarterback Landon Varnes, who leads the MACCC with 30 touchdowns and 3,082 yards.
MGCCC (9-1) exploded for three touchdowns in the third quarter to pull away. Varnes threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Antwaan Mays, and a 1-yard run by Alan Woods gave the team a 28-17 lead about midway through the third quarter. Griffin capped off a 7-play 75-yard drive with a touchdown run from five yards out, but the Bulldogs immediately retaliated. Varnes connected with Tyler Henderson for his fourth passing score of the night, a quick 57-yard strike, to pull back ahead 35-24, and a 26-yard field goal by Aiden Guinn and a 59-yard touchdown run by Elijah Jones in the fourth quarter put the finishing touches on the Bulldogs’ second win over EMCC this season.
Irving finished the game by going 21-of-38 through the air for 267 yards and a touchdown and led the team in rushing with 82 yards on 19 scrambles. Griffin, who finished the 2025 campaign with a conference-leading 1,168 rushing yards and NJCAA-leading 22 touchdown runs, ended his season on 23 carries for 73 yards.
Now-No. 5 MGCCC, winner of three straight games, takes on No. 4 Northwest Mississippi Community College for the MACCC Championship at 2 p.m. Saturday.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
