SCOOBA — Many junior college football fans probably discounted East Mississippi Community College’s 2022 season, one that was uncharacteristic for the Lions in a number of different ways.
Despite defeating Northwest Mississippi CC in the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) championship game, 36-28, last November, EMCC missed out on a shot at a sixth junior college national championship.
The Lions finished 8-3 overall and 4-2 in conference play, and adding yet another state title to their ever-growing title wall was something massive for the program.
However, EMCC wants something bigger, and that’s a national title.
“We put together a great team this season,” quarterback Jaquez Harris said. “This time, we’re coming for a national championship, just trying to put everything together.”
Harris, a Starkville product, has been battling it out with former Southern Miss product Ty Keyes in fall camp for the starting spot under center.
That competition, among other position battles during camp, is something Lions fans and the junior college world will be watching.
“Me and Ty, just two guys battling it out, competing every day, trying to make each other better,” Harris said. “The best man gets the job and we’re both here to get the job done.”
EMCC has already received a lot of preseason hype heading into the 2023 season, earning a No. 8 national ranking from the National Junior College Athletic Association before its Sept. 7 season opener against Co-Lin.
Among the teams on the docket for this season include another nationally-ranked opponent in No. 6 Jones College, who the Lions lost to on the road in 2022, 42-28.
However, this new-look team brought in plenty of transfer talent, as well as what head coach Buddy Stephens said is a strong 2023 signing class.
“This team is unique,” Stephens said. “It reminds me of our ‘13, ‘14, ‘15 teams. We’ve got a lot of young talent. We’ve got a lot of transfer talent that’s in there too. I think we’re going to be really good on offense. We just have to gel a bit more…I think our defense is so fast and so talented…I think we can have a really good team.”
Despite the constant roster churn of junior college football, the 2022 and 2023 seasons will look eerily similar as EMCC is playing the exact same schedule of opponents it did last fall.
Teams like Northeast Mississippi CC, Northwest Mississippi CC and Itawamba CC are once again on the schedule, and while last year’s matchup against Jones was on the road, it’s in Scooba this time around.
“If you’re going to be the best, you have to beat the best, so why not go ahead and play them,” Stephens said. “We’re actually playing the schedule that we had back in 2009 when we won our first state championship…I just like playing really good football teams. I think we play our best when we’re playing a really good football team.”
Overall, the excitement level is high in Scooba with faces new and old as EMCC looks to continue the tradition of excellence that began with its first state championship in 2009.
“I feel like we’re going to have a pretty good team this year,” offensive lineman Karsten Upchurch said. “We just have go out there and work and hopefully, we’ll go farther than what we did last year.””
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