Booneville, Miss. - The Northeast Mississippi Community College football team welcomes a common foe for one of the institution's biggest weekends of the 2014-15 academic year.
The Tigers face Coahoma Community College to conclude a full day of homecoming activities in the City of Hospitality on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.
Those that cannot attend the game can watch it live on NEMCCTV, which is the new broadcast home of all nine Northeast intercollegiate athletic programs. Join Jeremy Kennedy, the Voice of the Tigers, at 2:30 p.m. for the pregame show by visiting www.nemcctv.com.
Fans can also keep up during the contest with live in-game updates on Twitter by searching and following @NEMCCTigers.
Festivities are scheduled to begin approximately 30 minutes before the game gets underway and features the recognition of the newest inductees into the Northeast Alumni and Sports Hall of Fames as well as the Showband from Tigerland.
Homecoming queen Tatum Emmons of Booneville and the remainder of her court will take center stage during a special halftime ceremony.
Northeast hosts Coahoma in its annual homecoming matchup for the second straight season and ninth time overall, which ties the visiting Tigers with Mississippi Delta Community College for the second most appearances on this special date in program history. Only East Mississippi Community College has appeared on more homecomings than Coahoma and the Trojans.
Both squads enter the weekend matinee with an opportunity to rebound from Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division losses on the road at East Mississippi and Mississippi Delta, respectively.
Coahoma quarterbacks Anthony Mitchell and Mickey Ridley have excelled through the air and pace their offense. The duo has combined for 782 passing yards on 55 completions with six scores.
Kshun Evans is the top target for the pair of signal callers with a team-high 17 catches for 178 yards. Marcel Williams guides the Tigers (0-4, 0-2) with three touchdown receptions.
Joe Horn, Jr., has improved each week for Northeast and counters the combo of Evans and Williams. The Atlanta, Ga., native has reeled in 12 passes for 165 yards and two scores.
"Joe is a talented young man," said Tigers head coach Ricky Smither. "We feel like we've pretty much found what he does well. We're going to put the football in his hands."
Nettleton's Corbin White continues to be a steady force in the backfield as well. He is among the 10 best runners in the league with 287 yards on 71 touches to pace Northeast.
The Tigers from Clarksdale are young on the defensive side of the pigskin. Five of their top six tacklers are freshmen, including linebacker Rashaun Weekly who has 30 stops.
Northeast has accounted for seven more turnovers than its guest has so far during this campaign. Jamel Dennis heads the effort with two fumble recoveries and an interception.
Brady Smith recorded the best outing of his young career at East Mississippi last week. The freshman from Batesville tallied a game-best seven tackles and is currently tied for fourth on the squad with 21 takedowns.
"We knew that he had a lot of upside to him," Smither said. "Brady's thing is he just needed more reps. The more he gets then the better he'll get."
Saturday's matchup is the start of a crucial three-game stretch inside the MACJC North Division that could determine if the Tigers will reach the state playoffs. Northeast visits Mississippi Delta and Itawamba Community College after its meeting with Coahoma.
The Tigers hit a milestone with their 30th victory over Coahoma last season in a 27-17 nail biter on the Booneville campus. Northeast has won four straight outings against the Tigers and leads the overall series 30-8.