2016 Combined

WEEK OF .....1.\.J.J,..\ IU?~/J(J!l.L-- ____

JUNIOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL EMCC, Northwest to play for JUCO state title next week

WILL SAMMON THE CLARION-LEDGER

After being disqualified from the JUCO playoffs last season and then garnering attention for the hit Netflix documentary Last Chance U about the program, expectations remained high for East Mississippi Community College's football team. On Saturday, the Lions lived up to them. EMCC will play for its fifth state title next week after it defeated vis iting Mississippi Gulf Coast 27-24 in an exciting semifinal in Scooba. The Lions will host defending state champion Northwest Missis sippi at 2 p.m. Saturday for the state title. East Mississippi is cur rently ranked third in the nation and Northwest is ranked fifth. The Lions are 9-1 overall and have won nine straight. Gulf Coast finished 5-5. Vijay Miller's 7-yard touchdown . run provided the game's final mar gin with 9:02 left in the fourth quar ter. EMCC's defense was stout the rest of the way, blocking a punt on one of Gulf Coast's final drives. It was a back-and-forth game, and the score was tied at 14 at half time and then tied again at 17 with nine minutes left in the third quar ter. After Reggio Dean made an in terception, Ge'Vonte Jones ran for a touchdown to give Gulf Coast a 24-17 lead with seven minutes left . in the third quarter. EMCC responded with a 32-yard field goal with 14:25 left in the fourth before Miller's touchdown.. Northwest beats East Central Northwest capitalized on turn overs and received big perfor

808 SMITH I FOR THE CLARION-LEDGER Gulf Coast running back Quentin Frazier is stopped by East Mississippi's Alexander Lipscomb. EMCC won the MAOC semifinal 27-24. ·

mances from its kicker and quar terback in a 21-14 win over visiting East Central in the other state semifinal Saturday. East Central actually led 14-0 at halftime, but Northwest (9-1) out gained ECCC 294-8 in the second half and finished with 442 total yards: -Drake Mccarter nailed a 35 yard field goal to give Northwest a 15-14 lead with 14:28 left in the fourth quarter.

Fred Garth intercepted a pass on East Central's ensuing drive, and it didn't take long for Northwest to capitalize. Mccarter hit another field goal, this one from 28 yards, to make it 18-14with11:02 left.•McCar ter added a 42-yard field goal with about four minutes left. Northwest quarterback Clay Holgorsen completed 24 of 33 passes for one touchdown and 222 yards.

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