September 27, 2019


Freshman cornerback Desmond Williams bottles up an EMCC receiver in first half action at Scooba. (EC Photo)​

The No. 5 ranked East Mississippi Lions held the East Central Warriors to their lowest offensive output of the season and took advantage of six turnovers to earn a 24-0 shutout win in an MACJC non-division football game Thursday, Sept. 26, at Sullivan-Windham Field in Scooba.

East Central could muster only 193 total yards on offense and nine first downs against the Lion defense. The Warriors rushed for just 80 yards in the contest and turned the ball over six times on four interceptions and two fumbles.

The loss snapped East Central’s three-game winning streak after a season-opening loss to now No. 3 Northwest. The Warriors are now 3-2 overall on the season and remain 2-0 in the MACJC South Division.

The defending national champion EMCC Lions won for the 36th straight time at home, dating back to the 2013 season. East Mississippi improves to 4-1 overall, and remains 2-0 in MACJC North Division play.

EMCC set the tone early, scoring as many points on their first two possessions as the East Central defense was giving up per game on the season. The Warrior defense entered the game ranked No. 4 nationally in scoring defense, giving up just 10 points per game through the first four contests.

The Lions got a 29-yard field goal from Josh Smith on the opening 51-yard drive following a short East Central kickoff. After an East Central punt, EMCC found the end zone in just four plays. Quarterback Connor Neville hit Jason Brownlee for a 32-yard score. With just over six minutes gone in the first quarter, EMCC led 10-0.

After that, the East Central defense settled down, forcing the Lions to punt on three of their next four possessions. Another drive was thwarted by an interception from Warrior freshman safety Jaeden Webb (Northwest Rankin).

East Mississippi extended its lead to 17-0 just before the half as Neville found Brownlee from 10 yards out with 1:39 on the clock. The Lion drive followed a short East Central punt that gave East Mississippi the ball on the Warrior 42.

East Central had a couple of chances to put points on the scoreboard in the first half. The Warriors drove to the East Mississippi 23 in the first quarter, but a penalty took them out of field goal range and the Lion defense held on downs.

The Warriors marched to the Lion 28 as the first half was coming to an end before freshman quarterback Holman Edwards (French Camps Academy) was picked off in the end zone as time ran out.

Each team possessed the ball just twice in the third quarter, with both missing field goals. EMCC was wide left from 28 yards and ECCC was wide left from 33 yards.

The fourth quarter produced six total turnovers, including a fumble or interception five straight offensive possessions by the two teams. During one 16-second, three-play span, East Central freshman corner Desmond Williams (Forsythe, Ga., Mary Persons) intercepted a Lion pass, the Warriors fumbled it back on the next play, and the Lions fumbled it away to East Central on the ensuring play.

EMCC finally converted the last turnover of the quarter, an Edwards interception, into a touchdown on a three-yard run by Zias Perryman with 3:03 to play and the 24-0 final score.

Sophomore running back Marq Qualls (Lake) had 67 yards on 12 carries to lead the East Central offense. Edwards finished 14 of 26 passing for 113 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Depodray Coburn (Noxapater) caught five of those passes for 47 yards.

Webb had nine total tackles for the Warriors, including eight solo stops, in addition to his first half interception and a fumble recovery. Sophomore linebacker Ronnie Thomas (Clinton) had eight solo tackles, including a sack, two tackles for a loss, and a forced fumble. Sophomore linebacker Elijah Keyes (Mize) had eight total tackles, a sack, and a tackle for a loss, and freshman linebacker Trenton Ladner (Hancock) also had eight stops.

East Central continues its stretch of games against ranked teams with a trip to Wesson to face No. 11 Copiah-Lincoln on Thursday, Oct. 3. Kickoff from H.L. Sloan Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m.

All East Central home and away football games can be heard on WKOZ “Cruisin” 98.3 radio or at www.eccc.edu/eccc-media. Live stream video of all home games as well as links to the live stream of road opponents can be found at www.eccc.edu/eccc-media.


Freshman wide receiver Jalen Jones (Farmerville, La.) pushes through a hole in the EMCC defense on a first half kick return. Jones averaged over 30 yards per kickoff return in the game. (EC Photo)