Booneville, Miss. - Ricky Smither carved his name into Northeast Mississippi Community College's record book as one of the greatest coaches in its nearly six decades of football competition on Saturday.
Smither became the second winningest headman in program history following the Tigers' 49-35 homecoming victory over Coahoma Community College at Tiger Stadium.
The seventh-year instructor collected his 23rd triumph at Northeast and in the process leaped Andy Greening, who was commander in chief of the Tigers from 2003-07, on the all-time wins list. Smither now trails only National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Hall of Famer W.B. "Bill" Ward, who captured 56 victories during a solid career that spanned 15 seasons.
Northeast secured Smither's milestone in a near record-breaking performance. The final total for the Tigers was tied for the fourth most points scored during a single game in school history.
It was the most points accounted for by Northeast since beating defending Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) state champion East Mississippi Community College 49-42 on October 7, 2010. The program record was set in a 55-18 win over Coahoma during the 1981 campaign.
The Tigers (2-3, 2-1) compiled 368 passing yards against their guests, which is the most during one contest in over 10 years. Brett Thompson paced the effort with a personal best 227 yards and a 55.2 completion percentage.
"We had actually worked all week on running the ball," said Smither. "We were blessed to be able to come out and make some things work as far as throwing the football."
Coahoma used a Christian Williams three-yard run to complete a lengthy opening possession and take a 7-0 lead. However, the visiting Tigers' advantage did not last for very long.
Thompson connected with Donta Armstrong, who then raced 47 yards and dived across the goal line to bring the game into a 7-7 deadlock just over two minutes after Williams' touchdown.
Matthew Belue pushed Northeast ahead for the inaugural time in this contest midway through the second quarter with his third career touchdown run and first of the season. LaVontis Smith set up the score with a nice reception that was ruled down at the one-yard line.
Williams used a short scamper to tie the contest at 14-14. That score seemingly would last through halftime after the Tigers lined up in punt formation on their ensuing drive with less than 60 seconds remaining in the period.
But Northeast regained possession after Tadarious Clinton sprinted downfield on Jacob Meeks' boot and recovered the muffed attempt deep inside Coahoma territory. It was the first of five turnovers on the afternoon for the guests.
"When I get it going on special teams, it kind of starts me off," Clinton said. "I really just work hard in practice and you play how you practice."
The Tigers turned the miscue into points only two plays later. Running back Chester Lewis took the snap from center Martize Mitchell and then tossed it to Smith, who found Joe Horn, Jr., wide open in the end zone as the clock expired to propel Northeast to a 21-14 lead at the intermission.
Horn, Jr., and the Tigers quickly expanded their advantage in the initial four minutes of the second half. The sophomore from Atlanta, Ga., caught his second touchdown pass of the contest to put Northeast ahead 28-14.
Brady Smith then capitalized on an errant throw by Mickey Ridley, Jr., and returned an interception 33 yards to give Northeast a comfortable 35-14 lead. The South Panola High School product's pick-six was the first for the Tigers since Miguel Graham raced 95 yards for a touchdown versus Mississippi Delta Community College in the final game of the 2013 campaign.
Ridley, Jr., got back on track for Coahoma (0-5, 0-3) and threw a pair of scoring passes to K'shun Evans and another to Demecio Ewing over the final 16 minutes of the matchup.
Northeast, however, was able to maintain control of the contest with touchdown catches by Armstrong and Horn, Jr., in the fourth. Both wideouts set new career highs with 120 and 105 receiving yards, respectively.
"We had to come out here with a sense of urgency," said Armstrong. "Coach (Smither) told us to start out hot and once we did the defense would flow so that's what we did."
Armstrong's two scores were his first as a Tiger while Horn, Jr., currently has a team-best five touchdowns.
"Brett put every ball in my hands perfectly," Horn, Jr., said. "I couldn't have asked for anything better. All I had to do was run the right route. The credit goes to our line and Brett."
Trace Lee also came off the bench at quarterback for Northeast and had eight completions for 116 yards and his first score while donning a black and gold uniform.
University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) commitment Marcus Robinson tallied a game-high nine tackles to guide the Tigers' defensive effort while Jalen Hadley had five stops and three tackles for a loss of 29 yards.
Jamel Dennis had a solid outing as well with six stops, one sack, one pass break up and a fumble recovery that sealed Northeast's triumph with less than one minute left on the clock. Johnny Smith also had an interception and Clinton fell upon a second fumble.
Ridley, Jr., managed Coahoma's offense with nearly 400 yards combined between passing and running. Ewing had 113 receiving yards as well and was Ridley, Jr.,'s top target with seven catches.
The Tigers look to maintain their solid position in the MACJC North Division on Thursday, October 2 when they visit Mississippi Delta. Kickoff between Northeast and the Trojans is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Jim Randall Stadium.