SCOOBA — On East Mississippi’s second play from scrimmage, quarterback Connor Neville threw a quick pass to Austin Morphis, who caught the football a few yards passed the line of scrimmage and sprinted the rest of the way to the end zone for a 58-yard touchdown. 

Neville then hit Pervis Frazier on the Lions’ next offensive play for a 51-yard score before connecting with Rashad Eades down the left sideline on a 33-yard touchdown, Neville’s third of the game. The big plays led to a big win, as No. 6 EMCC took a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and went to crush Itawamba Community College 48-3 Thursday. 

“Early on, our offense did a great job of executing, and I think that allowed our defense to really peel their ears back and play free,” EMCC head coach Buddy Stephens said. “Neville came out really good and hot, and our receivers were running their routes and catching balls.”

The Lions added a 25-yard field goal for a 24-point lead before the Indians got on the board with a 26-yard field goal after a 12-play, 84-yard drive. 

Neville left the game with a left leg injury at the end of the first quarter after going 12-for-14 for 224 yards. Stephens said the injury isn’t serious and that Neville should start next week. 

Jamari Jones entered the game under center and ran the offense for the duration, getting more snaps than he had in the previous two contests. He threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to Jason Brownlee in the second quarter after Zias Perryman ran into the end zone from 17 yards out to cap off a five-play, 75-yard drive. Jones finished 10-for-14 for 142 yards.

“I’ve been waiting on this, and it finally came,” Jones said. “At first I was really nervous, but I got comfortable. After I settled down, I was good.” 

Smith hit a 24-yard field goal to give EMCC a 41-3 lead at halftime. 

After a scoreless third quarter, aided by a running clock, the Lions picked up an extra score from running back Hamm McGee at the goaline in the final period. 

East Mississippi (2-1) finished with 543 total yards, with 207 coming on the ground, led by Keon Moore, who had 83 yards on 12 carries. Morphis caught eight passes for 112 yards, and Brownlee had six receptions for 121 yards. 

“I really think the best is ahead,” Stephens said. “We’ve just go so much we still have to learn.” 

Itawamba (0-3) tallied 194 total yards and 107 on the ground. Starting quarterback Clark Mills, who led the nation in passing yards coming into the game, went 13-for-28 for 92 yards and threw an interception. 

EMCC travels to Mississippi Delta (0-3) next week.