Published: November 07, 2009 01:21 am      

Lions look to take championship road

East Mississippi Community College has more than a chance to win its first state championship today.

In addition to the MACJC football crown, the No. 7 Lions also have the opportunity to make a statement against defending state champ No. 3 Gulf Coast at 2 p.m. at Sullivan-Windham Field in Scooba.

"They are who you have to go through to win state," EMCC coach Buddy Stephens said. "We've just established the past two years that the North Division goes through Scooba. We want to make the statement that to win the state championship, you have to go through Scooba.

"We've won the North and it's now time to take that next step and get a gold football. Saturday is as good a time as any to take it."

Right now that road goes through the Bulldogs (9-1), who are playing in their third straight championship game. And that's OK with Stephens.

"To be the best, you have to beat the best and they are the best — two-time defending state champs" he added. "This just validates that we are and will be a contender for championships."

The Lions (9-1) had a chance to start making that statement earlier this season when then-No. 2 EMCC hosted Gulf Coast. However, the Bulldogs pulled away in the second half for a 43-26 win behind Vick Ballard's 173 yards rushing. Ballard, the NJCAA leader, has churned out 1,469 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Bulldog quarterback Greg Jennings also threw for 236 yards — 211 in the first half — as Gulf Coast racked up 503 yards against the Lions. Kevin Bolden, who scored three touchdowns in the game, had 112 yards receiving on four catches, while Brett Moncrief added 111 yards on seven grabs.

They have two good receivers, too"," Stephens said. "This is probably the best football team that I've seen there. They have weapons at wide receiver, running back and quarterback. They have the full package on offense."

Still, the Lions possess their own weapons, too. EMCC's All-American quarterback Randall Mackey has completed 67.4 percent of his passes — tops in the NJCAA — for 2,398 yards and 22 touchdowns. Lance Lewis and Bill Franks are Mackey's top targets as Franks has caught a team-high 40 passes for 351 yards. Lewis, meanwhile, is the Lions' big-play threat as 11 of his 38 receptions have gone for touchdowns. The sophomore also has a team-high 737 yards receiving and has four scoring catches of more than 70 yards.

EMCC has also been getting contributions on special teams and from its defense. Lions return specialist British Footman has returned kicks for scores against Northeast Mississippi and Mississippi Delta in the past four weeks. Defensive back Anthony Hines, meanwhile, has intercepted two passes in each of the past two games. He returned one of those picks for a touchdown in last week's 26-16 playoff win against Jones County.