The Lions’ Jacquez Horsley (22) rushes to the outside in EMCC’s homecoming victory.

SCOOBA — The Netflix producers for this season of ‘Last Chance U’ could not have asked for a better storyline for Saturday’s East Mississippi Community College-Northwest Mississippi Community College contest.

Homecoming? Check. A primetime afternoon match for the Lions against the current No. 1-ranked and defending MACJC national champion Rangers? Check. Playoff implications? Check.

East Mississippi (6-1, 5-0) rattled off its 20th consecutive home win Saturday at Sullivan-Windham Field as the Lions, behind quarterback De’Andre Johnson’s precision passing and opportunistic running, defeated previously No. 1-ranked Northwest Mississippi Community College 51-32. The Lions, which entered the afternoon ranked No. 4, rolled up 614 yards of total offense on 96 plays in the win.

Johnson ended the afternoon with 334 passing yards and five touchdowns while adding 120 rushing yards. All five of Johnson’s scoring tosses went to different receivers.

“It feels great; it’s just another game,” Johnson said. “We were playing for it, and we expected it. I was able to lead the team to victory, and that was the main goal, so it feels good. When I was in high school, I had five different receivers, so it’s like high school all over again. It’s a good arsenal to pick and choose from.”

Johnson hooked up with wide receiver Brooks Shannon halfway through the first quarter to put the home team on the scoreboard and open the Lions’ afternoon scoring flurry.

EMCC kicker Taylor Crabtree added a 35-yard field goal in the second quarter, which running back Isaiah Wright followed with a 4-yard touchdown run to put the Lions ahead 17-0 with 12:28 left in the first half.

The Lions accumulated 272 yards of total offense before the Rangers went on a 65-yard, second-quarter scoring drive that whittled East Mississippi Community College’s lead to 17-7.

The Rangers added another touchdown in the second quarter as quarterback Clay Holgorsen tossed a 23-yard pass to wide receiver Dee White to bring NWCC within three points.

Not to be outdone, EMCC answered with a perfectly placed 40-yard pass that fell over two NWCC defenders and into the hands of wide receiver Ja’Moz Mark at the back of the end zone to give the Lions a 24-14 lead.

“I’ve seen that look before — the 4-1 press look … and I knew the 2 (receiver) would be open,” Johnson said of the play. “I put it up, and he ran under it. He did a great job. Congrats to Ja’Moz on that play.”

NWCC kicker Drake McCarter booted a 25-yard field goal in the second to make the score 24-17 at intermission.

During halftime, Kemper Academy head coach Pete McCleskey was inducted into the EMCC sports Hall of Fame. McCleskey and this year’s class were honored at mid-field during the ceremony. McCleskey played during the last two years of legendary EMCC football head coach Bob “Bull” Sullivan’s tenure in the late 1960s.

“I’m humbled just to be mentioned with all these guys who are super athletes,” McCleskey, who is in the midst of an undefeated season at Kemper Academy, said. “It’s just an honor. I’m surprised and shocked, and glad to be among it. It’s a wonderful school, and it’s grown so much that I hardly recognize it. But it’s quite an honor.”

The extended halftime break didn’t cool off Johnson’s arm.

On the fourth play of EMCC’s first drive of the second half, Johnson whizzed another beautifully placed pass, this time to wide receiver Damion Willis, for a 34-yard touchdown to give the Lions a 31-17 lead.

Willis, a Southeast Lauderdale High School product, produced a team-high 106 receiving yards.

Rangers’ backup quarterback Cam Bowman found White on a slant pattern to score from six yards out. The Rangers’ two-point conversion was good, lowering their deficit to 31-25 with 3:55 left in the third quarter.

EMCC running back Jacquez Horsley toted it in from 3 yards out early in the fourth quarter to extend the Lions’ lead to 12 points after a failed two-point conversion attempt, and EMCC held a 37-25 scoring advantage with 14:07 left in the final quarter.

Johnson tallied his fourth touchdown pass of the afternoon courtesy of an 8-yard pass to former Meridian High School standout receiver Daniel Crowell, to cap a 10-play, 54-yard drive that chewed 3:39 off the clock, which gave EMCC a 44-25 lead.

EMCC’s signal-caller notched his fifth touchdown pass of the game when he fired a 7-yard dart to wide receiver Devin Ducksworth with 6:08 in the fourth.

“When the lights come on, he can play,” Stephens said of his quarterback. “And he may be as good as we’ve had here.”

Bowman and Jerrick Orr gave NWCC its 32nd point of the game when Bowman hit the wide receiver from five yards out with just over two minutes left in the contest.

“This game was going to answer a lot of questions, whether it would be who was going to win the North, who may be in the playoffs at all because Northeast still controls their destiny,” Stephens said. “So, it answered a lot of questions. Still leaves a lot of questions for us. We’ve got to stop giving up big plays, and on offense, we’ve got to be more efficient and not have lulls of inept play and not executing. So, if we’ll just get better at us, and doing what we do, we’re going to be alright.”