MERIDIAN —
East Mississippi Community College wasn’t as dominant Thursday night as it’s been the past three weeks. But the No. 5 Lions were still good enough to defeat MACJC North Division rival Coahoma 48-17 at James E. Miller Stadium in Clarksdale, the 36th EMCC win in 37 meetings against the Tigers. It was also EMCC’s 17th straight win.
The Lions, who are now 5-0 and 2-0 in the North heading into next Saturday’s homecoming game against Holmes, fell behind for the first time since the season-opener against Pearl River Community College on Sept. 1. The host Tigers, who upset Pearl River one week earlier, took a 3-0 lead on a 19-yard field goal from Jonathan O’Hara little more than five minutes into the game.
That was Coahoma’s last lead as the Tigers fell to 1-4 and 0-2 in the North. EMCC, the defending national champions, took the lead for good two minutes later when Quez Johnson hit Corey Smith on a 7-yard touchdown pass with 7:42 remaining in the first. Johnson, second in the state in passing entering Thursday’s game, and Smith, second in the state in receiving going into this week, connected again four minutes later for a 34-yard touchdown pass.
After Coahoma pulled back with a score when Roderick McKee hit Jordan Taylor on a 44-yard pass in the closing minutes of the first half, Johnson used his feet to help keep EMCC in front. After the two touchdown passes, his 11th and 12th of the season, the freshman from Starkville ran in from 1 yard out with 8:09 remaining in the first half to push EMCC’s lead to 21-10.
Taylor and McKee answered right back for the Tigers as they teamed up for a 49-yard touchdown pass with 5:19 before the break. However, EMCC had one last answer before the half. Sophomore running back Rodriguez Moore capped a nearly four-minute drive as he scored from the 3 with 1:27 left in the second quarter and the Lions led 28-17.
The second half was all EMCC as Moore scored on runs of 41 yards and 15 yards in the third quarter, the last coming as the period ended. The Lions then added a 19-yard scoring strike from Johnson to Billy Shed with 5:32 remaining in the game.
Sports
No. 5 Lions pull away from Tigers
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Bulldogs win again, beat S. Carolina in SEC Tournament
Demarcus Henderson and Wes Rea both had RBI singles in the ninth inning to lift Mississippi State to a 5-3 win over South Carolina Wednesday night in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
The Bulldogs (42-16) loaded the bases with one out before Henderson and Rea drove in runs on consecutive at-bats for the second time in the game.
Mississippi State had beaten Missouri 2-1 in 17 innings Tuesday night, matching the longest game in SEC tournament history.
Reliever Myles Gentry (4-0) limited the Gamecocks (39-17) to a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth.
Gentry pitched 5-2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out eight.
Rea was 3 for 4 while Henderson drove in three runs.
Mississippi State led 3-0 before South Carolina tied it up in the fourth.
Max Schrock drew a bases loaded walk and Brison Celek followed with a two-run single. -
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Roy takes over as football head coach at Clarkdale
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Bennett stays on as softball coach at Clarkdale
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Titles nothing new for Newton County
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Embry completes 5A title sweep
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Meridian Community College golfer, TJ Morgan, from Bruce, MS, tied for the
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