Make that 14 career wins over top-3 nationally ranked opponents for head coach Buddy Stephens – and 150 total at East Mississippi Community College.
Under his guidance and a fast offensive start powered by the legs of running back Gavin Griffin, EMCC knocked off No. 3 Northwest Community College, the reigning MACCC champions, 34-28 last Thursday in Scooba.
Griffin ran for a career-high 189 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries – which is the most by a Lion since Lakenderic Thomas’ 248 yards on 19 carries in a 52-32 win over Georgia Military for the 2013 national championship – a performance that earned him MACCC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
He got the scoring started early in the first quarter with a 1-yard run, and Hayden Houpt added a 23-yard field goal to give the Lions a 10-0 lead heading into the second quarter, where Griffin punched in another score, this time from 2-yards out. Quarterback Rodge Waldrop threw a 10-yard scoring strike to Montrell Dortch to blank the Rangers 24-0 at halftime. At the horn, EMCCC outgained Northwest 329-71 in offensive yards and held a 19-5 advantage in first downs.
Northwest came out in the third quarter with much more fire in its offensive engine, and scored two unanswered touchdowns – a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Neko Fann to Keon Hutchins and a 14-yard touchdown throw to M.J. Johnson. Griffin issued a scoring response for EMCC and carved up 53 yards with his legs for his last score of the night to cap a 6-play 72-yard drive and make it a three-score ball game.
In the fourth quarter, Houpt delivered another field goal, this one from 28 yards to improve the Lions’s lead to 34-21. The Rangers kept attacking though, and tacked on a 2-yard touchdown run by Julius Pope before Fann threw a 15-yard scoring strike to Reed Jesiolowsk with 2:40 left to play to make it a one-score game. Griffin rushed three times to keep the clock moving, and the Lions picked up the game-winning first down through the air with a pass to Kam Triplett to seal the victory.
EMCC outgained Northwest 494-400 in offensive yards and held the Rangers to 3-of-10 on third down conversions. Waldrop delivered a solid performance through the air with 305 yards on 31-of-46 passing for a score. Noreel White led the team with eight catches for 86 yards, Dortch had seven grabs for 67 yards and touchdown, Christian Thomas caught four passes for 66 yards and Griffin chipped in 36 yards receiving on four catches.
Donald Passmore III led the team with seven solo tackles, one for a loss of one yard, and Jay Stevenson had an interception return for 15 yards.
The win bumped the Lions (2-1) into the NJCAA national rankings at the No. 12 spot, and the Lions look to move up in the leaderboard at 7 p.m. today when they play at Itawamba Community College.
The Indians (1-2) are coming off a 23-14 win over East Central Community College after season-opening losses to Hinds Community College (34-7) and Pearl River Community College (48-42). Itawamba brings an offense that averages 353.7 yards a game, with 196 of those yards coming through the air. Quarterback Deljay Bailey threw for 184 yards for a touchdown and one interception during last week’s win, and running back Mykel Allen provided 95 yards on 27 carries for a score. Despite its two losses, ICC has been slightly more productive in scoring than EMCC, holding a 9-8 touchdown lead over the Lions on the season.
The Lions, though, boast the No. 3 passer in the MACCC with Waldrop under center and one of the country’s best rushers in Griffin, who is tied at third nationally with five touchdowns on the year.
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