BOONEVILLE, Miss. - The Northeast Mississippi Community College football team flipped the script from last week to piece together one of its most impressive offensive performances so far this decade.
Northeast scored 28 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to erase a two-possession deficit and rally past Southwest Mississippi Community College by a final of 49-30 on Thursday, September 5 at Tiger Stadium.
The Tigers racked up 483 yards of total offense, including 268 on the ground. Oppositely, Northeast's defense limited the visiting Bears (0-2) to only 15 rushing yards and 268 overall.
The yardage for the Tigers was the eighth best in a single contest on record. It was the most since Northeast posted 488 yards in a victory at Mississippi Delta Community College during the coronavirus abbreviated 2020 campaign.
The Tigers' 49 points equaled the fifth most in program history. Northeast has matched that total three times with the most recent coming in a heartbreaking road loss to Holmes Community College in October 2017.
It was tied for the highest scoring game in the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) through two weeks. Holmes and Southwest also combined for 79 points in their season opener.
"We got in a rhythm defensively and next thing you know we got some confidence," said Northeast head coach Greg Davis. "We got two third down stops and then we had two turnovers. That was just the biggest thing. It was a good team effort. We kept battling."
The Tigers were down 30-21 with 1:11 remaining in the third period. Their comeback started with a 54-yard kickoff return by Tre'Marcus Webb following the Bears' final touchdown of the night.
Antonio Kennedy capped the short drive by sprinting 11 yards across the goal line. Freddy Lopez's third of four successful point after attempts cut Northeast's deficit to two points just over one minute into the fourth.
It took the Tigers only one play on each of their next two possessions to reach the end zone. Caden Greer found Will Stokes wide open down the middle of the field for a 50-yard touchdown that gave Northeast the lead for good.
The Tigers (1-1) then quickly capitalized on a fumble recovery by Idarius Leslie that was forced by Rickey Banks. Keion Mays raced 37 yards untouched for his second score in as many games this year.
Northeast put the Bears away with a 13-play drive that bled more than seven minutes off the clock. The Tigers converted two fourth downs in that sequence, including Kennedy's three-yard touchdown run.
Kennedy became the fifth Northeast student-athlete in 20 seasons to rush for three touchdowns in the same game. The last Tiger to do so was Goldman Butler against Holmes two years ago.
Each of Northeast's sophomore running backs accumulated more than 80 yards. Mays led that effort with 86 yards while Chris McMillian registered a team-best 18 carries.
"We said, 'We've got to be better this week for the team.'" Kennedy said. "We came out with good energy and kept it up throughout the game. We showed what we can do, but we can still be better."
Greer completed 11 of 19 passes for 215 yards with three scores in his inaugural start at the collegiate level. He added first half touchdowns of 79 and six yards to JT Beasley and Cameron Isaiah, respectively.
"I can't give more thanks to the Man above," said Greer. "This feels good. I appreciate all the coaching staff for believing in me and knowing what I can do on the field."
Beasley finished with a game-high 95 receiving yards on just three catches. Ryan McCall had a team-best eight tackles while Banks added an interception on Southwest's final possession.
The Tigers begin the MACCC North Division portion of their schedule by traveling to Mississippi Delta on Thursday, September 12. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Jim Randall Stadium in Moorhead.