SCOOBA —
Making their fifth straight appearance in the MACJC state football playoffs, the 10th-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College play host to the 15th-ranked Copiah-Lincoln Community College Wolfpack today at 2 p.m. at Sullivan-Windham Field.
Reigning NJCAA national champions and MACJC state/NJCAA Region 23 champions, fifth-year head coach Buddy Stephens' 8-1 EMCC Lions will be looking to get back on track after having their 20-game winning streak snapped with last Saturday's 24-23 setback at Itawamba Community College. The loss in the regular-season finale marked EMCC's first defeat since dropping a 48-21 playoff decision at Copiah-Lincoln during the 2010 MACJC state semifinal round. The Lions also had their 20-game win string in regular-season play snapped, having not previously lost during the regular season since falling at home 49-42 to Northeast Mississippi back on Oct. 7, 2010.
In addition, last Saturday's one-point loss at Itawamba was just the third division defeat suffered by the Lions since Stephens took over EMCC's head coaching duties. With East Mississippi now 27-3 (.900) in MACJC North Division play since 2008, last week's loss in Fulton also marked the Lions' first division road setback in 15 outings away from home dating back to 2008.
Owners of a five-year composite record of 44-9 (.830) during the Stephens era, including a fourth MACJC North Division title coming this year, the EMCC Lions are 4-2 collectively in the MACJC atate pPlayoffs since the 2011 NJCAA National Coach of the Year arrived on the Scooba scene. In contrast, East Mississippi had only made one prior playoff showing (1984) since the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) went to the football playoff system in 1970.
A year ago en route to claiming the school's first NJCAA national championship, the EMCC Lions earned their second MACJC state/NJCAA Region 23 football title in three years by besting 14th-ranked Hinds (55-24) in the semifinals and then knocking off No. 5 Mississippi Gulf Coast (42-17) in the title game. Both contests were played on the Scooba campus, as was the case back in 2009 when EMCC collected the school's first state football championship with home triumphs against No. 19 Jones County (26-16) and third-ranked Gulf Coast (75-71). The Lions' recent postseason losses came in semifinal-round play two years ago to 10th-ranked Co-Lin (48-21) in Wesson and at home to No. 12 Pearl River (42-35) back in 2008.
Guided by ninth-year head coach Glenn Davis, Copiah-Lincoln sports a 7-2 overall record and 5-1 division mark after finishing the regular season as the No. 2 seed in the MACJC's South Division behind seventh-ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Wolfpack's lone setbacks during the regular season both came at home to this year's other two state playoff teams. Co-Lin fell 54-21 to MGCCC two weeks ago and earlier dropped a 42-21 decision to No. 2 North seed and ninth-ranked Northwest Mississippi during the second week of the season. Most recently, the Wolfpack secured its playoff spot by claiming a 23-10 road victory against Southwest Mississippi to close out the regular season.
East Mississippi and Copiah-Lincoln have met three previous times on the gridiron since Stephens assumed EMCC's head coaching duties five years ago. Prior to EMCC's playoff loss at Co-Lin in 2010, the Lions had previously knocked off the Wolfpack during the 2008 (28-9 in Scooba) and 2009 (27-13 in Wesson) season openers.
Today's other MACJC semifinal-round contest will have ninth-ranked Northwest Mississippi (7-1) traveling to Perkinston to take on No. 7 Mississippi Gulf Coast (8-1). The winners of the two semifinals will meet for the 2012 MACJC state/NJCAA Region 23 championship Nov. 10 at a site to be determined based on this weekend's outcomes. With the MACJC rotating the championship-game site between the two divisions every other year, this season marks the South Division's turn to host the state title tilt. Should the championship contest pair two intra-division foes, the higher-seeded team would earn the right to host the title game.
Sports
No. 10 EMCC looks to rebound in playoff opener
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Roy shows big-league talent in win
Every youth leaguer dreams of being a Major League Baseball player. In Tuesday's Cardinals-Mets game, 8-year-old Trace Roy swung the bat and flashed some leather that looked like a glimpse into the future.
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Cougars fall in Game 1
A sixth inning rally by Lewisburg handed the Newton County Cougars their first lost of the postseason, 2-0, in Game 1 of the Class 4A baseball championship at Trustmark Park.
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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. -
Hogs top Ole Miss in SEC Tournament
For the second time this season the Rebels played an extra-inning affair with the Razorbacks, but with a different outcome as No. 21 Ole Miss (37-21) fell to No. 15 Arkansas (36-19) 2-1 in 10 innings on Wednesday.
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Fundamentals leading Newton County to Jackson
In 2006, Newton County baseball won the 3A state title. Since then, they've moved up a class but haven't had much luck – until now.
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Roy takes over as football head coach at Clarkdale
After nine years serving as an assistant on the Clarkdale football coaching staff, Wes Roy proudly considers himself a Bulldog. The coach has not only grown to love the team and its players, but also the Clarkdale community itself.
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Bennett stays on as softball coach at Clarkdale
In one season as the interim coach for the Clarkdale softball team, Britt Bennett has gone through what most coaches go through in a career. Over the past year, Clarkdale has dealt with the death of two students, a coaching scandal and the departure of two star players.
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Titles nothing new for Newton County
Newton County captured its seventh fast-pitch state championship, outscoring defending champion Houston 26-3 in two games. The Cougars took home the title despite not having a single senior on their roster –– still, few were surprised.
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Embry completes 5A title sweep
In his first year coaching the Neshoba Central softball team, Trae Embry won two state titles but wouldn't take all the credit.
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Morgan takes runner-up at Nationals
Meridian Community College golfer, TJ Morgan, from Bruce, MS, tied for the
individual medalist at the NJCAA D1 National Championship held in Lubbock, TX, but lost on the first hole of a playoff. TJ shot 7 under for the tournament with a 76 on the first day followed by 68, 67 and a last round 70. Aksel Olsen from Wallace State Community College won the playoff. TJ was named First Team All-American for his high finish. - More Sports Headlines
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