EMCC board member says Delta players aggressors in fray

Published 4:04 am Tuesday, November 3, 2015

    East Mississippi Community College Board of Trustees member Jimmie Moore of Abbeville, Ala., updated the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors Monday on the National Junior College Athletic Association’s decision to ban the Lions from defending their national football championship.

    The NJCAA denied an appeal last week from EMCC after the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges suspended most of the Lions’ team after they left the sideline to defend teammates who had gotten into a fight with members from Mississippi Delta. The NJCAA is the national governing board for athletics for community and junior colleges and the rules state players will be suspended two games for leaving the team sideline if a fight breaks out. The purpose of the rule is to prevent further injury from fighting, the NJCAA contends.

    East Mississippi has won the NJCAA football championship in 2011, 2013 and again in 2014.

    Moore said he witnessed the game in Moorhead where the fight broke out at Mississippi Delta.

    “It was the worst fight I’ve seen in a college football game,” Moore said. “However, I think the tone was set by actions created by (individuals) at Mississippi Delta. Before the game started, our field goal kicker was bumped into by a Delta player. One of our managers went out to talk to him and he was head-butted.”

    The game proceeded as scheduled and the Lions, who already won the MACJC North Division with a 5-0 record, was up 48-0 late in the second quarter.

    Moore described to the supervisors what happened next.

    “Our wide receiver’s knee was down and he got speared by a Delta player and the fight broke out,” Moore said. “One of our running backs was literally surrounded by Delta players and got knocked down and kicked on. Guys, kids are not going to let their teammates get pounded on. We tried to show this on the film. We still had 16 players who did not leave the sideline.

    “Our case, that (East Mississippi President) Dr. (Tom) Huebner presented, was we could have played our playoff game with East Central with those 16 players. We should have had a chance to defend our title. But the NJCAA denied our appeal. Now, we will have to just concentrate on next year.”

    Returning rising sophomore players, who left the bench area, will have to serve the final game of the two-game suspension at next year’s season opener.

    “We’ll be playing a lot of freshmen,” Moore said.

    East Mississippi finished the season with an 8-1 record. The Lions counted the 48-0 score as a win over Mississippi Delta.