East Mississippi Community College football came full circle
in the 2011 season. We started the year with the opening
of a brand-new stadium, New Sullivan-Windham Field,
named after legendary EMCC football coach “Bull” Sullivan.
Looking up into the packed home side that day was like looking at a family album, as four generations of the
EMCC family cheered for their Lions. And, on that day,
“Bull” Sullivan’s children were there to cut the ribbon.
We fought the always-tough Mississippi Gulf Coast
Bulldogs that opening day ... and we ended the regular
season right back at New Sullivan-Windham Field,
facing Gulf Coast again.
Buddy Stephens, our head football coach, is a lot like
Bull Sullivan. He demands a lot from his players, and they
give their whole heart to everything they do, on and off
the field. But 2011 was like no other season, a perfect
trifecta of football success as the EMCC Lions: 1) posted
a perfect season for the first time in EMCC history;
2) claimed, for the second time since Coach Stephens
arrived five years ago, the MACJC state championship;
and 3) won, for the first time in EMCC history, the
NJCAA national championship.
Here's how it went:
Sept. 1, vs. No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast at home, Win 34-30 Sept. 8, vs. Hinds on the road, Win 20-17 Sept. 15, vs. No. 4 Northwest on the road,
Win 45-42 Sept. 22, vs. Itawamba at home, Win 48-7 Sept. 29, vs. Coahoma at home, Win 56-6 Oct. 8, vs. No. 12 Northeast on the road,
Win 63-35 Oct. 15, vs. Pearl River on the road, Win 41-17 Oct. 22, vs. Mississippi Delta at home, Win 54-0 Oct. 27, vs. Holmes on the road, Win 56-35 Nov. 5, vs. No. 14 Hinds at home in the semi-final round of the MACJC state championship, Win 55-24 Nov. 12, vs. No. 5 Mississippi Gulf Coast at home
for the MACJC state championship, Win 42-17 Dec. 3, vs. No. 1 Arizona Western College on the
road in Yuma for the NCJAA national championship,
Win 55-47 The EMCC Lions open the 2012 football campaign
ranked No. 1 in the country.
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For more, visit the photo albums on EMCC's Facebook page.
Watch "The Road to History,"
the story of East Mississippi Community College's 2011 NJCAA championship season,
by East Mississippi Media:
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