SCOOBA — Late in the fourth quarter Thursday, with East Mississippi Community College leading by a score, visiting Coahoma Community College began marching down the field.
Then the Tigers started going the wrong direction.
EMCC’s defense pushed Coahoma (3-3, 1-2 MACCC North) out of the red zone and forced a key turnover on downs, getting the ball back with 3:20 to go and securing a 24-16 win at Sullivan-Windham Field in Scooba.
“The defense really stepped up at a time when we needed them to,” Lions coach Buddy Stephens said.
Coahoma got down to the 14-yard line before the Lions’ defense came up big one last time. Sacks on third and fourth down gave EMCC (4-2, 2-1 MACCC North) the ball back at its own 35, ending a 13-play, 38-yard drive by the Tigers.
Three plays later, EMCC put the game away on a 30-yard completion from Eli Anderson to Kobe Chambers.
Fellow receiver Josh Aka of Starkville said he talked to Chambers before the game and told the Greenwood product to stay patient. Chambers did, making a crucial catch on third down to run out the clock.
“That was very important,” Aka said. “We were all anxious to make big plays, and for him to seal it like that, that was a great play.”
Chambers was just one of several Lions receivers with standout games. Marc Britt II caught a 15-yard touchdown pass, and Starkville’s Stacy Robinson had three catches for a team-high 89 yards.
Robinson’s big night included a 52-yard catch-and-run touchdown over the middle, which put EMCC up 13-6 in the second quarter and gave the Lions the lead for good.
“It’s like that 1-2 punch combo,” Aka said. “Whether he’s in or I’m in, it’s always amazing seeing my little brother work, man. I’m very proud of him. We always talked about having games like we had tonight, so I’m very proud of him.”
Britt’s touchdown and a two-point run by the quarterback Anderson put EMCC up 21-6, and the Lions seemed on the verge of putting the game away. EMCC handled Coahoma 52-6 last season, and another such contest seemed like a possibility.
Then the Tigers showed their teeth.
Quarterback Jaden Johnson hit Shemar Crawford of Houston for a 30-yard score just 14 seconds before halftime. After a scoreless third quarter for both teams, Coahoma threatened again but settled for a 22-yard field goal by Starkville’s Josh Eaves two minutes into the final period.
Cole Arthur responded with a 27-yard field goal for EMCC with 9:10 to play.
Johnson and running back Jakobi Jackson got Coahoma inside the Lions’ 25 on the ensuing drive, with Jackson converting a third-and-1 at the 16 by virtue of a 2-yard run.
But running back QJ Skipper was stuffed for no gain on first down at the 14, and a Johnson pass for Crawford fell incomplete.
Tevontae Bond sacked Johnson at the 23 on third down, and Devonyal Lofton and Elijah Davis slung the Tigers quarterback to the ground on fourth down way back at the 35.
Once again, EMCC’s defense had held.
“We had been ‘bend but don’t break’ all night — I don’t like that, I hate that, but as long as the scoreboard reads we’ve got more than they’ve got at the end, that’s what matters,” Stephens said. “That’s good.”
EMCC earned a much-needed win after last week’s home loss to Northwest Mississippi Community College, a 38-21 setback.
But Stephens challenged postgame the notion that the Lions are in “a better place” than they were after the defeat.
“We’ve got so much to work on and so much to get better at, and the majority of it is between our ears and not physically,” he said. “That’s our biggest place to get improved.”
The Lions must improve without a couple of key players. Linebacker Keyshawn Lawrence, one of 10 Starkville High School products on EMCC’s roster, is likely out for the year with a probable Achilles’ tendon injury suffered Thursday. Stephens said offensive lineman Tre’Darious Griffin’s season is also likely over.
“You hate it for those kids,” he said. “You really do.”
The Lions will lick their wounds ahead of next week’s game at Northeast Mississippi Community College.
While EMCC didn’t meet its stated goal — “a running clock after halftime” due to the 35-point mercy rule, Aka said — the Lions were happy to escape with a victory given their mistakes: tons of penalties on offense and losing contain on Johnson on defense.
“Coahoma’s so much better than they have been. You can’t do that when you play good teams, and it almost cost us tonight,” Stephens said. “The great thing is, hey, the Lions won. We still made those mistakes and won, and so we know now that if we just fix them, we’ll be a lot better the next time.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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