EMCC Freshmen Quez Johnson and Morgan Rhodes Earn Player of the Week Honors

September 17, 2012

SCOOBA, Miss. (WCBI/EMCC Athletics) —For their performances in top-ranked East Mississippi Community College’s 59-6 road win over Southwest Mississippi Community College last Thursday, Lion freshmen Quez Johnson and Morgan Rhodes have collected MACJC/jucoweekly.org Player of the Week recognition.

(Courtesy of EMCC Athletics)
QB Quez Johnson, formerly of Starkville High, was named MACJC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Southwest CC.

Johnson, a product of Starkville High School, threw for 403 yards and five touchdowns on 21-of-28 passing to earn Offensive Player of the Week honors, while Rhodes, from Northwest Rankin High School, connected on a 22-yard field goal and was perfect on all eight of his point-after-touchdown attempts to score 11 points and claim Special Teams POTW accolades. Holmes’ freshman cornerback Kris Givens, of Ridgeland, was tabbed the league’s Defensive POTW selection for his two interceptions in the Bulldogs’ 34-14 division win over Northeast Mississippi CC at Madison Central High School.

Averaging 295 passing yards per game, with 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions, on the season, Johnson’s offensive totals against Southwest this past week become even more impressive when considering that the 6-foot-1, 225-pound signal-caller compiled the numbers while playing the first half and just the first offensive series of the second half during the Lions’ 53-point victory.

In last week’s win at Southwest, Johnson and Rhodes helped East Mississippi mount 786 yards of total offense (464 passing & 322 rushing) – the most by a Buddy Stephens-coached EMCC squad. The Lions also reached the 50-point mark for the 10th time since Stephens took the EMCC football helm in 2008.

Now 3-0 on the year and winners of 15 consecutive games dating back to last year’s NJCAA National Championship season, the EMCC Lions return home to begin MACJC North Division action by playing host to Mississippi Delta Community College on Thursday. Kickoff for East Mississippi’s 2012 division opener is set for 7 p.m. at Sullivan-Windham Field on the Scooba campus.