SCOOBA — Five days after committing seven turnovers in an ugly win over Northeast Mississippi, the East Mississippi Community College football team put on a nearly flawless performance.
Quarterback Jamari Jones completed 10 of 13 passes for 161 yards and four touchdowns Thursday night as the fifth-ranked Lions toyed with No. 15 Coahoma to the tune of 52-6 at Sullivan-Windham Field.
The victory clinched the MACCC North Division title for EMCC (7-0, 5-0 MACCC) and guaranteed at least one more home game: Nov. 6 in the first round of the playoffs. Clearly, the Lions suffered no damage from not competing last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m just so proud,” Lions coach Buddy Stephens said. “Our president said he thought it would hurt our program long-term, and I’m just glad it hasn’t. We’re very proud of the focus our guys have had.
“We’ve had about 17 guys that have come back for really their third year. All 17 have graduated and are EMCC alumni, and they’ve really bought in.”
The Lions scored touchdowns on their first six possessions, averaging fewer than five plays per drive. And there were no turnovers.
“We practiced holding on to the football this week,” Stephens said. “I think offensively and defensively we were very locked in, taking what the defense gives you and not trying to be too greedy.”
Jones threw scoring passes of 49, 30 and 4 yards in a span of 7 minutes to turn an early 7-0 lead into a 28-0 rout with 13:17 still left in the first half. The Lions took advantage of a short field for two of those scores, as a low snap on a punt that could not be handled and the first of two lost Tigers fumbles gave the Lions the ball at the Coahoma 30 to start back-to-back drives.
It took one play for the Lions to score the first time, as Jones hit a wide-open Zach Patterson for a 30-yard touchdown. The second time, Jones hit Myles Hopson for a 27-yard gain to set up a 4-yard screen to Patterson, who dodged would-be tacklers to reach the end zone and make it 28-0.
The Lions showed they can put together a sustained drive when necessary, as their fifth touchdown was the product of a nine-play, 73-yard drive highlighted by back-to-back 16-yard passes to Montae Spivey and Carl Robinson, respectively, and capped by a 13-yard run by KJ Lawrence.
Coahoma’s second lost fumble gave EMCC the ball at the Tigers’ 18. Five plays later, Jones hit Perryman coming out of the backfield for an 8-yard touchdown to push the lead to 42-0 and, when the second half began, trigger a running clock.
The two fumbles and the turnover on downs were examples of something Stephens loves to talk about: defense helping offense.
“They’re playing really good defense, and that makes it a whole lot easier on the offense,” Stephens said. “Our defense allows us to do a lot on offense.”
The short fields provided by the EMCC defense are reflected in the stat sheet; despite the utter domination by the Lions, they totaled 370 yards of offense, a good night but not what ordinarily comes with a 52-6 romp.
But the defense made life miserable for Coahoma quarterbacks Ken Bonner-Steward and Mekhi Norris, who combined to complete 11 of 30 passes for 156 yards, 60 of which came on a fourth-quarter touchdown.
While nobody could make a play for the Tigers, most of the Lions’ roster had a hand in the win.
Eleven receivers caught passes from Jones and Damon Stewart, whose 6-yard pass to Stacy Robinson capped the scoring for the Lions. Patterson led the receivers with 3 catches for 38 yards, while Duke Miller had the most receiving yards with 49, all coming on Jones’ first scoring pass.
Jones led EMCC with 55 rushing yards, with Spivey totaling 54 and Carl Robinson netting 47. Starkville High School graduate Peyton Rodgers hit a 42-yard field goal and all seven of his PAT attempts.
There was nothing flashy about the Lions’ performance, Stephens said, just a very deep team with many players doing their jobs.
“If they’re giving you the short pass, take it,” he said. “If they’re giving us the off-tackle run, take it. It’s not a hard game. It’s just football. We’re not building a piano or putting anybody in space, it’s just football.
“It’s real easy. Throw it where they ain’t, run it where they ain’t, block, tackle, pass … and we held on to the ball tonight, and that’s a big plus.
East Mississippi 52, Coahoma 6
Coahoma (4-3, 2-3 MACCC) 0 0 6 0 — 6
East Mississippi (7-0, 5-0 MACCC) 21 21 3 7 — 52
First quarter
EMCC — Jamari Jones 9 run (Peyton Rodgers kick), 12:56
EMCC — Duke Miller 49 pass from Jones (Rodgers kick), 5:04
EMCC — Zach Patterson 30 pass from Jones (Rodgers kick), :35
Second quarter
EMCC — Patterson 4 pass from Jones (Rodgers kick), 13:17
EMCC — KJ Lawrence 13 run (Rodgers kick), 6:03
EMCC — Zias Perryman 8 pass from Jones (Rodgers kick), 3:41
Third quarter
EMCC — Rodgers 42 FG, 5:53
CCC — KeAundre McCullough 60 pass from Ken Bonner-Steward (kick failed),1:17
Fourth quarter
EMCC — Stacy Robinson 6 pass from Damon Stewart (Rodgers kick), 5:25
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