Scooba, Miss. - Joe Horn, Jr., has worked his way into an increasing role inside the scheme of Northeast Mississippi Community College's offense.
Horn, Jr., caught a touchdown pass for the second straight contest, but the Tigers could not overcome an early deficit and lost 65-7 against No. 1 East Mississippi Community College on a rainy Thursday evening at Sullivan-Windham Field.
Northeast moved the football very efficiently on its final possession of the opening half. The Tigers went 85 yards on only four plays thanks to lengthy receptions by LaVontis Smith and Horn, Jr.
Quarterback Brett Thompson capped the drive with a 21-yard toss to a wide-open Horn, Jr., to put Northeast on the scoreboard. The touchdown also snapped the Tigers' streak of nine straight scoreless quarters versus the Lions.
The Peachtree Ridge (Ga.) High School product accounted for a career-high six catches and tied East Mississippi's DJ Law with a game-best 89 receiving yards. He and Smith are currently knotted for the most receptions on the team with 12 in just four outings.
"My teammates have helped me a lot. Everyday that we're in practice they lift me up," said Horn, Jr. "Brett threw a great ball and it landed right in my hands. It couldn't have been any better."
The Lions (4-0, 2-0) took a quick 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the matchup on a 12-yard scoring strike from Clemson University transfer Chad Kelly to Camion Patrick.
East Mississippi was forced to punt on its second possession following a nice tackle for loss by Johnny Smith. However, the Lions added 37 points on a handful of miscues by the Tigers during the remainder of the contest.
A bad snap over the head of punter Jacob Meeks rolled out of the end zone for a safety to extend East Mississippi's advantage to 9-0. The Lions then crossed the goal line on their first play from scrimmage after the free kick on Law's 49-yard grab.
Allen Sentimore and Demetrius Cain returned intercepted passes for touchdowns to push East Mississippi ahead 51-7 at halftime. Quan Latham added another pick-six following the intermission.
Todd Mays added a pair of scoring scampers while Kameron Myers snagged his fifth touchdown reception of the season to round out the game for the Lions.
Northeast forced its opponent into three errors for the second time this year. The Tigers have accumulated at least two turnovers in each of their four matchups so far during this campaign.
Marcus Robinson caught a laser from Kelly in the middle of the field for his first career interception during the second period. The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) commit started down the East Mississippi sideline, but cut back down the visitor side of the stadium and ran over two defenders for a 36-yard return.
"I felt like it was a very big play," Robinson said. "We just needed something to give us a little momentum and by all means I was going to try to get our offense in scoring position."
Jamel Dennis reeled in Kelly's second interception of the night and season as a whole while Mario Virges recovered a fumble deep inside enemy territory to thwart another scoring effort by the Lions.
Freshman Brady Smith topped both squads with a game-high seven tackles in his second start for the Tigers. Johnny Smith, Darius Whitty and Robinson each registered for five stops apiece as well.
Thompson completed 15 of 34 passes for 174 yards to pace Northeast. He distributed his attempts nicely with eight different wideouts recording at least one catch.
Kelly led a Lion offense that tallied 493 yards with 310 through the air. The Tigers held East Mississippi to a season-low 152 yards and 17 touches on the ground.
"I feel like our kids kinda got lost in the moment," said Northeast head coach Ricky Smither. "Overall, we played decent but we just made too many mistakes."
A crucial stretch for the Tigers begins next Saturday, September 27 when Coahoma Community College visits the City of Hospitality for Northeast's annual homecoming matchup. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.