With 24 days left in the regular season, East Mississippi Community College quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr. is looking forward to seeing his team as a finished product.
“When you reach the final month of the season, you want to be playing your very best,” Scott said. “We are close to being special. We are close to being a championship team. You have to work hard at it. You have to do more than you have ever done before. When you are this close to the finish, everybody has to give a little more.”
No. 1 EMCC will play host to No. 15 Holmes C.C. at 7 p.m. Thursday in a Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division matchup at Sullivan-Windham Field in Scooba. It will be EMCC’s final Thursday home game of the season.
“The first half of the season you want to make sure you can reach your goals,” Scott said. “Now we are past halfway and all of our goals we set at the start of the season can be reached. We feel like we are 90 percent of the way there. That is exciting. When you know you can still reach all of your goals that is motivating.”
EMCC improved to 5-0 and 3-0 in division play last Thursday with a 45-7 win at Mississippi Delta C.C. EMCC can wrap up a seventh-straight division championship by beating Holmes and No. 11 Northwest Mississippi C.C. next Thursday in Senatobia.
However, EMCC has prided itself in being more than a division champion. EMCC last won the MACJC State championship last season and last won the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national championship in 2014.
The chance at a fourth national championship in seven seasons was greatly enhanced Tuesday, when NJCAA released its initial computer rankings. EMCC was ranked No. 1 in the nation for a third-straight week. Once the computer rankings were factored in, EMCC holds a 30.25-point lead over No. 2 Tyler (Texas) Junior College.
Arizona Western College fell from second to fifth when the computer rankings were included. EMCC received seven of nine first-place votes from human voters, with Arizona Western getting the other two.
“The players know we have a chance to be a championship team,” EMCC coach Buddy Stephens said. “I like the business-like attitude of this team. They are enjoying this process. They are competing in the best league in the nation. They see the potential. They know what we have to do to reach our ultimate goals.”
Only one of EMCC’s three national championships took place with EMCC entering the final game of the season ranked No. 1 in the nation. The other two titles came with EMCC as No. 2 beating a No. 1 team.
Not only did Tuesday’s ranking set EMCC up for a path to the title game, it also provided a way for EMCC’s strength of schedule to grow. Three of EMCC’s final four opponents are ranked. Overall, the MACJC has six teams ranked. EMCC has played or will play the other five in the regular season.
All three South Division opponents — No. 12 Hinds C.C., No. 17 Jones County Junior College, and No. 20 Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. — are ranked. EMCC has beaten JCJC and Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. It will face Hinds C.C. in the regular-season finale.
“Everything is lining up,” Scott said. “Teams from our program are judged based on winning national championships. Three years is not a long time, but it seems like a long time for us. We know we haven’t done anything yet. What we have done is put ourselves in a position to play meaningful football games the rest of the way.”
After blowing out Mississippi Delta C.C. last Thursday in Moorhead, EMCC players were eager to talk about the stretch run. Against Mississippi Delta C.C., sophomore running back Tyrell Price racked up his third 100-yard game of the season. The former Lafayette standout leads the nation with 11 rushing touchdowns.
“We can win a lot of nights without playing our best,” Price said. “We are trying to hit that championship stride. I like the offense. I like the balance. Our defense has a chance to be dominant. We are doing that one extra thing every day in practice to reach a championship level. Everybody is excited because we are close.”
Holmes C.C. was ranked No. 3 prior to a 33-13 loss to Northwest Mississippi C.C. last week at home. Primarily an option team, the Bulldogs lead the nation with an average of 388.2 rushing yards per game.
EMCC has won 11-straight games in the series. However, the last two wins have been hard fought. EMCC won 44-28 in 2015 in Scooba and 63-49 last season in Goodman.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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