When East Mississippi Community College sophomore wide receiver Kalem Reddix began looking for a new home, he wanted a national championship contender.
After his freshman season at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College ended with a coaching change, Reddix relocated to Scooba to see if he could help EMCC win another National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national championship.
That mission was completed in November when No. 1 EMCC beat No. 2 Garden City Community College (Kansas) 10-9 in the NJCAA national championship game at Pittsburg State University’s Carnie Smith Stadium.
EMCC’s fifth national championship season is being recognized today as the Dispatch’s top local sports story for 2018.
“It’s a championship standard around here,” said Reddix, who signed earlier this month to play at the University of Louisiana starting in January. “The bar is the highest possible. If you don’t win the national championship, the season doesn’t measure up. For me personally, this was my first undefeated season since I started playing. This was a special season for all of us.”
EMCC completed its fifth perfect regular season and fourth 12-0 season in program history. The Lions will carry a 17-game winning streak into next season.
Next year’s Lions will also be chasing history. Only Butler College (Kansas) and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M have more national championships with six, compared to EMCC’s five.
“Things are going well right now,” said EMCC sophomore defensive back JaQuez Akins, who has signed with the University of Tennessee at Martin. “There was some adversity earlier and it was our job to make sure things got back on track. Playing here has been a humbling experience for me. It has really helped me grow as a person and a player.”
While the program has ranked among the nation’s elite in this decade, there was another first this season.
After being ranked No. 1 nationally in the preseason, EMCC maintained that ranking for every poll through the regular season and postseason. One other time, EMCC started first and finished first but slipped two second for a couple of weeks.
This year there would be no slippage but there would be some close calls.
EMCC scored 50 or more points it first four wins. Then there was hard-fought escape of East Central Community College 24-21 on a last-season field goal.
That scare seemed to refocus the Lions, who followed that up with a 34-6 win at Northwest Mississippi Community College in a battle of Top 10 powers.
EMCC then finished with three routs to earn a seventh Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division title in eight seasons.
“The win over Northwest really gave is a lot of confidence,” said EMCC sophomore quarterback TyQuan Ulmer, who also transferred from Gulf Coast Community College. “After that, we thought we could win a championship. We knew we had the type of team that it takes.”
EMCC rode the nation’s best defense to the finish line. The Lions allowed 11.2 points per game. Six opponents were held to less than 10 points.
In the MACJC playoffs, EMCC routed Copiah-Lincoln Community College 31-7 before needing two touchdown passes from Ulmer for a come-from-behind 19-14 win at Jones College.
In that state championship victory, the Lions’ defense had six takeaways.
Again in the national championship game, it was all about defense again. Former West Point standout Everitt Cunningham had a strip and score for the Lions’ only touchdown.
Untaero Johnson then saved the championship with a stop on a 2-point conversion attempt with less than eight minutes to play.
“A championship team has to be blessed,” EMCC coach Buddy Stephens said. “When someone is down, someone else picks up the slack. There is an expectation around here. These guys did a great job of making sure that expectation was met.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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