|
SCOOBA, Miss. – Coach Dale Peay’s 2008-09 East Mississippi men’s golf team left Friday to participate in the school’s second Fall World Class Golf Tour. The eight-day trip will take the EMCC golf team to Gulf Shores, Ala., and around various scenic courses in Destin, Fla.
This fall marks the second year the East Mississippi golf contingent has participated in such an event. A year ago, the Lion linksters spent a week traveling and playing various courses, such as Farm Links Golf Club in Sylacauga, Ala.; Atlanta’s Heritage Golf Club; Cullasaja and Highlands Cove golf clubs in Highlands, N.C.; Mountaintop Golf Club in Cashiers, N.C.; Brice’s Creek Golf Club in New Bern, N.C.; and Pinehurst No. 2 and Forest Creek golf clubs in Pinehurst, N.C.
Expected to field a team of five traveling freshmen this week due to an injury to sophomore Brian Ledbetter and an illness sustained by fellow second-year player Zak Holloway, the Lions are slated to tee off this fall’s tour at the Kiva Dunes Golf Course in Gulf Shores, Ala. EMCC will then head to Destin, Fla., to challenge the scenic layouts of Burnt Pine, Raven, Shark’s Tooth, Camp Creek Golf Club, Pensacola Country Club, and Kelly Plantation.
With Ledbetter rehabilitating a shoulder injury incurred during an August automobile accident and Holloway battling the ongoing effects of Crohn’s disease – a disorder that causes inflammation of the digestive tract – the Lions have been represented this fall by five first-year golfers. EMCC opened the fall campaign last month with a third-place team finish at the Mississippi College Invitational held at the Patrick Farms Golf Course in Jackson. Michael Lauseng of Bossier City, La., paced the East Mississippi quintet with a 2-over-par 74, followed by Trey Adams of Belmont and Calhoun City’s Will Black with scores of 77 and 80, respectively. Rounding out EMCC’s scorecard at the one-day MC tournament were former Northwest Rankin teammates Garrett Alford and James Winter with respective scores of 83 and 84.
Most recently, the Lions competed in a three-team scrimmage event held at Grenada’s Dogwood Golf Club along with Northwest Mississippi and Itawamba. Led by co-medalists Lauseng and Adams with identical scores of 73, EMCC shot 297 as a team, which topped the previous all-time school record of 311 for lowest team total. Alford and Black added scores of 74 and 77, while Winter’s 84 rounded out the team’s individual scoring.
|
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 10 October 2008 )
|
|
 Defensive end Claude Davis and wide receiver Leon Berry both scored in 16th-ranked EMCC’s 49-0 shutout victory at Northeast Mississippi Thursday evening (Photo courtesy of MitchDeaver.com).
In posting their first shutout since blanking Northeast Mississippi, 21-0, on the road in 2000, the Lions moved to 6-1 overall with their fifth consecutive victory and 4-0 in divisional play.
EMCC freshman quarterback Randall Mackey once again ignited the nation’s top-ranked passing offense by connecting with Meridian’s Montrez Mosley on a 10-yard scoring pass and then hitting Wayne Bonner from 39 yards out to give the visitors a 14-0 lead at the end of the opening quarter. From Milledgeville, Ga., Bonner’s scoring grab – his lone catch of the game – marked his team-leading sixth touchdown reception of the season.
Northeast, now 0-7 overall and 0-4 in North Division play, managed to reach the red zone only twice during the contest. The Tigers’ best chance of reaching the end zone came late in the first quarter when they drove to EMCC’s 20-yard line, before West Point’s Alex Hill nabbed his third interception of the year at the 2-yard line and returned it 20 yards. The Lions wasted little time ringing up their third touchdown of the night. Mackey found Starkville’s Mike Outlaw and Gulfport’s Stephon Johnson for 22 and 53 yards, respectively, through the air, before taking it in himself from four yards out on the ground.
Northeast’s only other trip to the red zone on the night came as a result of a penalty-filled drive early in the second quarter. Including a roughing the punter penalty and offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct fouls, the Tigers scratched and clawed to EMCC’s 17-yard line only to be stopped on a fourth-and-two attempt. Following a subsequent three-and-out Northeast possession, Mackey engineered a quick-striking, three-play scoring drive which consisted of a 13-yard completion to Mosley, an 11-yarder to fellow Meridian native A.J. Brown, and ultimately with a 29-yard touchdown toss to Leon Berry of Griffin, Ga. Mackey’s third touchdown pass of the half and 15th of the season gave the visitors a comfortable 28-0 halftime advantage.
In one half of play, Mackey went 14-of-19 via the air for 251 yards and three scores. The 2007 PARADE All-American from Bastrop (La.) High School gave way to sophomore signal-caller Perry Trammell of North Panola High School fame in the second half. The Sardis native picked up where Mackey left off by marching the Lions 65 yards on seven plays in their opening possession of the half. With Trammell connecting on all five pass attempts during the drive, he would find Brown for a 7-yard scoring pass with 9:53 left in the third quarter. Immediately following the ensuing kickoff, East Mississippi made it 42-0 when freshman defensive end Claude Davis picked off Jeremy Yates’ first pass attempt of the night and rumbled 18 yards for the score.
Meridian freshman running back Cedrick Blanks capped the Lions’ productive offensive performance – the third time this season they’ve scored 47 or more points in a contest - by scoring on a 1-yard plunge at the 12:32 mark of the fourth quarter.
With Trammell connecting on his first dozen aerials and finishing the contest with 12-of-13 passing for 132 yards and one touchdown, EMCC’s quarterbacking tandem combined for 26-of-32 efficiency through the air to account for 383 yards and four touchdowns.
Now with 13 interceptions on the year as a team, EMCC had four picks on the night against Northeast. Reserve freshman corner back Lathan Hughes of West Oktibbeha High School had his first interception of the year, while Starkville’s Anthony Hines collected his team-leading fourth interception of the campaign late in the contest.
In recording their largest victory margin since claiming a 58-7 triumph at Coahoma in 1980, the Lions limited Northeast to 14-of-36 passing for just 98 yards with four interceptions. The Tigers were also held to 74 yards on the ground in 27 attempts.
Bidding for the school’s first state playoff appearance since 1984, coach Buddy Stephens’ East Mississippi Lions take on Itawamba on Saturday, Oct. 18, in West Point. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at West Point High School. Looking to clinch the North Division title with a win against the ICC Indians, the Lions are slated to don Mossy Oak camouflage jerseys during their West Point outing.
|
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 10 October 2008 )
|
|
|
The East Mississippi soccer teams fell by scores of 9-1 in women’s action and 4-1 in men’s play Wednesday afternoon at Itawamba Community College in Fulton.
Freshman Nikeisha Noel tallied the Lady Lions’ lone score of the contest by netting an unassisted goal – her 17th of the season – during first-half action. EMCC trailed, 4-1, at the intermission en route to dropping its second straight decision after putting together a five-match unbeaten streak to close out September competition.
In the nightcap, the Lions struck first with Columbus sophomore Aaron Jenkins scoring his third goal of the season on an assist from freshman Justin Sims of Richland. The Indians countered with two first-half tallies en route to the 4-1 decision.
Coach Junior Noel’s EMCC men’s squad, now 1-10-1 overall and 0-6 in league action, continues North Division play by taking on Holmes Friday afternoon in Ridgeland. The Lady Lions, now 4-6-2 overall and 1-4 in divisional play, conclude their 2008 campaign by meeting Northwest Mississippi next Wednesday (Oct. 15) in Senatobia. Match times at Northwest are set for 2 and 4 p.m.
|
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 October 2008 )
|
|
 The 16th-ranked EMCC Lions travel to Northeast Mississippi Thursday looking to maintain their lead atop the MACJC North Division football standings.
Thursday’s EMCC-Northeast broadcast can be heard on WFCA-FM (107.9) – the Voice of French Camp Academy – with Jason Crowder calling the play-by-play action. The radio broadcast can also be accessed via audio streaming through EMCC’s athletics website – athletics.eastms.edu.
Winners of four straight games for the first time in 10 years, the Lions are 5-1 overall and 3-0 in division play after claiming a convincing 47-20 Homecoming triumph over Coahoma this past Saturday. EMCC is off to its best start since opening the 1974 campaign with five consecutive wins en route to posting an 8-2 record. Assured of their first winning regular season since 1998, the Lions moved up four notches to 16th nationally in this week’s NJCAA/JC Football.com Top 20 poll.
Headlined by freshman quarterback Randall Mackey of Port Sulphur, La. – the nation’s statistical leader in passing yards (268.7 yards per game) and total offense (318 yds/gm) – East Mississippi as a team ranks No. 1 nationally in passing offense (288.7 yards per game) and second in total offense (463.2 yds/gm) behind Ellsworth Community College. Defensively, the Lions stand seventh among the NJCAA team leaders in passing defense while allowing 117 passing yards an outing on the year.
Individually, EMCC boasts four players ranked among the top 13 MACJC statistical leaders in receiving yards per game. Starkville’s Mike Outlaw leads the Lions with 27 catches on the year for an average of 61.5 receiving yards per contest, followed by Montrez Mosley of Meridian with 24 grabs for 360 yards (60 yds/gm). Georgia natives Leon Berry (Griffin) and Wayne Bonner (Milledgeville) have hauled in 21 and 18 passes, respectively, for 292 and 359 yards. Bonner tops EMCC’s receiving corps with five touchdown catches and in yards per reception (19.9). Freshman Phillip Dimino of West Point stands second among the league’s top scoring kickers with 30 points on three field goals and 21 successful points-after-touchdown, while Starkville freshman running back Pat Shed is third in scoring by non-kickers with nine total touchdowns (8 rushing & 1 receiving) for the season.
On the defensive side of the ball, freshman defensive end Claude Davis of Lakeland, Fla., is tied for second in the MACJC with seven sacks, while fellow Floridian Jamar Hornsby of Jacksonville – this week’s NJCAA Defensive Player of the Week - ranks second in total tackles with 42 solos and 26 assists.
Guided by head coach Ricky Smither, Northeast Mississippi is still looking for its first victory of the season. Having most recently dropped a 38-7 Homecoming decision to East Central last week, the Tigers are 0-6 overall and 0-3 in North Division play.
East Mississippi has prevailed in the last two series meetings with Northeast Mississippi, having claimed a 31-27 home victory over the Tigers last year in Scooba and winning in Booneville, 25-8, two seasons ago.
Bidding for their first state playoff appearance since 1984, coach Buddy Stephens’ EMCC Lions will play host to Itawamba at West Point High School on Saturday, Oct. 18. Kickoff for the EMCC-ICC game in West Point is set for 1 p.m. Along with East Mississippi scheduled to don Mossy Oak camouflage jerseys for next week’s contest, pre-game activities slated for the West Point contest will include a swearing in of 30-35 Air Force recruits plus a planned flyover of T-38 Talon jets courtesy of Columbus Air Force Base and the United States Air Force. A United States Army ROTC cannon will also be on hand to sound off following all EMCC scores during the game. An EMCC recruiting station and hospitality tent will also be available prior to the West Point contest and throughout the game.
|
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 October 2008 )
|
|
|
----------
