Published: August 29, 2008 02:11 am            

Grand Opening

Second half fireworks propel Lions to victory

What a difference a half can make.

In the first game of the Buddy Stephens era at East Mississippi Community College, the first-year head coach watched his EMCC Lions stumble their way through a sloppy first half, allowing visiting Copiah-Lincoln to grab a 6-0 lead headed into halftime.

A prolific offensive coordinator during his previous stop at Pearl River Community College, Stephens and his staff particularly needed to make offensive adjustments at halftime after the Lions amassed just 49 total yards in the first two quarters.

It took EMCC all of one play to double that total in the second half.

Trailing 6-0, freshman quarterback Randall Mackey hit wide receiver Wayne Bonner on a beautiful, 60-yard touchdown early in the third quarter, giving the Lions their first lead of the young season and igniting an offensive explosion.

And just like that, the Buddy Stephens era was off and running, as the Lions' new boss got his first-ever win as a head coach with a resounding 28-9 victory.

"Maybe there were some jitters there in the first half, but we held back a little offensively as well," Stephens remarked. "We didn't show some things there in the first half that we had worked on and once we got rolling in the second half, we did pretty well."

Mackey, a multi-purpose QB from Bastrop, La., particularly excelled after the break, tossing a pair of touchdowns and running for another after a slow start. Mackey's touchdown toss to Bonner seemed to energize the entire EMCC team and gave the freshman QB a much-needed boost of confidence.

"That seemed to get him going right there," Stephens said. "All he needs is confidence back there. I think now, counting high school, he's 39-0 as a starting quarterback. That's not bad."

In the second half, the EMCC offense rolled to 261 total yards, with Mackey completing 7-of-13 passes for 151 yards and a pair of scores.

Much like its offensive counterpart, the EMCC defense also rose to the occasion after the break, allowing just three points and picking off Co-Lin QB Micah Davis three times. Sophomore safety Alex Hill recorded a pair of interceptions, while freshman Anthony Hines added another.

Following up a first half where they yielded 195 total yards, the Lions tightened up considerably, holding the visiting Wolves to just 123 second half yards.

Following kicker Phillip Dimino's extra point to put the Lions up 7-6 early in the third, Co-Lin bounced right back, driving 43 yards in eight plays to set up a 32-yard field goal by Will Thibadeaux that gave the Wolves a 9-7 lead.

Trailing once again, the Lions wasted little time in taking control of the game, as sophomore Leon Berry's 48-yard kickoff return sparked a four-play scoring drive, that culminated in a 22-yard scoring strike from Mackey to former Meridian High standout Montrez Mosely. Dimino's extra point gave EMCC a 14-9 lead, a cushion that would not be relinquished.

For his part, Mosely ended the night with three catches for 34 yards and the go-ahead touchdown.

"It was a screen-and-go, and (Mackey) made the right read," Mosely said. "As soon as I saw the ball coming to me, I knew I was going to catch it."

Trailing 14-9, Co-Lin drove into EMCC territory once more, only to be turned away by Hill's second interception of the game.

"I was just playing center field, doing my job," Hill said. "We made our adjustments and halftime and took care of business in the second half."

The Lions would salt the game away with a pair of late touchdowns, including a brilliant 55-yard scamper by Shed and a 21-yard scoring scramble by Mackey. Mackey also added a 2-point conversion toss to Mosely.

With the win, Stephens improved to 1-0 in his head coaching career, though that's of little concern to the first-year head man.

"We have to enjoy it, we really do," Stephens said, "but we can't become complacent. We have to be ready to play every single week."

Stephens and the Lions will return to action next week, traveling to Ellisville to take on Jones County.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.