Booneville, Miss. - The Northeast Mississippi Community College football team will usher in a new campaign inside its own friendly confines for the first time in three years.
Northeast welcomes Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College to the City of Hospitality on Thursday, August 27 as they embark upon their 57th season on the gridiron. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.
The opener for both squads also serves as the annual Military Appreciation Night for the Tigers. Representatives from the Army will have booths set up around the facility with prizes available for those that participate in games such as football toss.
Other spectator friendly displays that will visit the Booneville campus include an up-armored hummer like those used in combat missions and a machine that allows fans to make their own dog tags that are identical to those that soldiers wear.
Those that cannot attend the contest can watch it live on NEMCCTV, which is the broadcast home of all nine Northeast intercollegiate athletic programs. Join Jeremy Kennedy and Bryan Fenley at 6 p.m. for the pregame show by visiting www.nemcctv.com on any computer, smartphone or tablet.
Fans can also keep up with all the action using live in-game updates on Twitter by searching and following @NEMCCTigers.
Greg Davis makes his debut as Northeast's headman on the same night that the Tigers salute the troops. He notes that his student-athletes progressed nicely during fall training camp and are prepared to battle the nationally ranked Bulldogs.
"These guys are ready to play and hit somebody else," he said. "I'm really pleased with what I've seen so far. They've worked extremely hard and done everything we've asked as a staff."
A combined ten starters are back on both sides of the pigskin for the Tigers. Four sophomores, including Dayon Davis, Lakendrick Preston, Cole Strawn and Rowdy Williams, return on the line to give two newcomer quarterbacks ample time to run the offense.
Donta Armstrong, Khalid Kornegay and Joe Horn, Jr., should be early catalysts for the Northeast offense. Together the trio accounted for nearly 1,300 yards at the wide receiver position in 2014.
Armstrong is the top returning wideout in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) with 39 receptions and 538 yards. Kornegay tallied four scores during his inaugural season with the Tigers.
Horn, Jr., was a MACJC All-State selection after a sensational freshman campaign in which he accumulated a team-high six touchdown catches. He added 33 total grabs and averaged 13.2 yards per reception.
Northeast boasts two big returns on the defensive front in Jalen Hadley and Justin Williams. Hadley finished second behind current Delta State University standout Jamel Dennis one year ago in the category of tackles for loss with 11.
Williams earned MACJC All-State accolades in his initial season at the collegiate level. He placed third on the unit with 56 tackles and second with 4.5 sacks for the Tigers.
Mario Virges guides the linebackers after notching 43 stops during the previous campaign while Brady Smith anchors the defensive backs with a resounding 52 takedowns last year.
Two solid individuals on special teams in Andrew Ashe and Jacob Meeks begin their final seasons at Northeast. Ashe was tabbed as the best long snapper among all junior college programs according to Chris Rubio's ratings and Meeks booted 12 punts that landed inside the 20-yard line.
Mississippi Gulf Coast has seven starters back on the roster from its most recent group that posted an 8-2 overall record and qualified for the postseason as the MACJC South Division runner-up.
A couple of transfers should factor into the lineup for the Bulldogs, including Middle Tennessee State University quarterback A.J. Erdely and the University of South Carolina's Octavis Johnson at cornerback.
Chris Robinson had a team-high 733 yards rushing on 141 touches during his first campaign at Mississippi Gulf Coast. Tevaris McCormick is another threat after amassing 39 catches and three touchdowns during his introductory year with the Bulldogs.
Mississippi Gulf Coast allowed only 12.2 points each outing last season. James Graves and Neiko Robinson united for 87 tackles as a part of that stingy Bulldog defense.
It is the third consecutive year in which the Tigers have christened their campaign by meeting the team ranked ninth in the NJCAA's preseason poll. Both of the prior occasions were on the road at Copiah-Lincoln Community College and Mississippi Gulf Coast, respectively.
The Bulldogs launched their 2014 season with a 41-8 victory over Northeast in Perkinston. Mississippi Gulf Coast also leads the all-time series 24-9-2.