SENATOBIA - By now, there's no doubt that Northwest and East Mississippi has blossomed into one of the most compelling rivalries in all of JUCO football. Tomorrow's showdown in the MACCC Championship will be no different.

Tomorrow's edition of the Rangers-Lions matchup will be the 10th straight game featuring both teams in the NJCAA rankings. Taking things a step further, at least one of the two teams has been nationally ranked in the last 16 meetings and Saturday will mark the third time since 2016 that Northwest and EMCC have met to decide the MACCC champion.

Along with the long-anticipated Hutchinson-Iowa Western matchup, a lot of eyes will be fixated on what takes place at Bobby Franklin Field tomorrow. Northwest comes into the matchup ranked No. 2 in the nation, as 12th-ranked East Mississippi looks to play spoiler to the Rangers' bid for a third straight conference title.

Earlier this season, Northwest defeated EMCC, 38-21, in what was then a Top 10-matchup in Scooba on September 29. The Rangers lead the all-time series 43-26-1, but the Lions have held a 10-4 margin over Northwest since 2010. On October 12, 2017, the Rangers snapped a seven-game losing skid against the Lions and since then, Northwest has posted a 3-3 mark against EMCC.

Northwest is led by the nation's second-leading passer, Ren Hefley. The Little Rock native and Presbyterian College transfer has caught the eye of several Division I programs in recent weeks and currently sits at 2,057 passing yards and 21 touchdowns, trailing only Mississippi Gulf Coast quarterback Pat McQuaide in both categories. For the season, Hefley has completed 168 of his 267 pass attempts for a 63 percent completion rate and only five picks thrown.

Hefley's top targets include reigning NJCAA First Team All-American D.T. Sheffield and Jaycob Horn, both of whom have over 40 receptions and 500 receiving yards on the season. Sheffield, a native of Corinth, has finally caught the attention of Division I programs everywhere, including Washington State, Kansas, Ohio and Georgia State, just to name a few. Already the team's new record-holder in career receiving touchdowns, Sheffield ranks third in the NJCAA for receiving touchdowns (10), 11th in total catches (45) and 13th in receiving yards (577).

Horn, the son of former NFL receiver Joe Horn and the brother of current Carolina Panthers defensive back Jaycee Horn, has built quite the résumé of his own. The Tupelo native and former Texas State transfer has racked up 564 yards on 40 catches, with four touchdowns. 

Northwest may average 219.8 yards per game through the air, but the Rangers' ground game isn't too shabby either. Jamarien Bracey and Cayden Betts have been powerful when given the ball, combining for 247 carries, 1,262 yards and 14 touchdowns, accounting for over half of the team's rushing efforts. In recent weeks, freshman tailbacks Xavier Davis and Cam Young have also emerged as viable options in the backfield, with Davis rushing for 117 yards against Holmes on October 20.

Defensively, the Rangers have been a nightmare for opposing teams. Northwest boasts one of the top defenses in the MACCC and finished the regular season with the best scoring defense in the conference. The Rangers have only surrendered 17.6 points per game and 279.3 yards per game through 10 games, as countless players on that side of the ball have offers ranging across all levels of college football.

Northwest is paced by leading tackler Sam Brumfield, who has 84 total tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, six sacks and five quarterback hurries on the season. He is joined by playmakers Rontavious "Dude" Person with a team-high nine pass breakups, Byron "Tank" Pearson and his team-leading five interceptions, and the dynamic defensive line duo of Jykeveous Hibbler and Omar Pew, both of whom have a combined 24 tackles-for-loss and 11.5 sacks on the season.

On special teams, Eli Hamlin is 8-for-14 in field goal attempts and 43-of-48 in point-after attempts. Punter Shade Foster, who most recently earned both MACCC and NJCAA Special Teams Player of the Week accolades, has booted 34 punts for 1,230 yards and has placed 13 of his attempts inside the 20-yard line. Four of his punts have gone over 50 yards, including last week's 56-yard attempt that landed at the 1-yard line and later helped set up a Jones College turnover.

Although the Rangers got the better of the Lions in the regular season, Northwest knows that East Mississippi will come in bent on seeking revenge. The Lions did so in 2017, losing to Northwest in the regular season, only to return to Senatobia and earn a 67-66 double overtime victory in the conference title game.

East Mississippi is led by quarterback Eli Anderson, who ranks sixth in the NJCAA with 205.7 passing yards per game. The freshman phenom has completed 194 of his 279 passes for 1,945 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Behind him, Memphis transfer Peter Parrish has passed for 612 total yards and 11 touchdowns with three interceptions.

With two capable quarterbacks, it should be no surprise that the Lions do most of their damage through the air. Seven EMCC receivers have collected at least 200 yards or more, led by Duke Miller's 52 catches for 536 yards and four touchdowns. From there, Kobe Chambers has 34 receptions for 338 yards, followed by 294 receiving yards from Josh Aka, 271 yards and four touchdowns from Carl Robinson, and a team-high five receiving touchdowns from Marc Britt II.

East Mississippi can also get it done in the rushing game as well, featuring three tailbacks with 300 yards or more. The unit is led by 471 yards on 84 carries from Mike McGowan and 448 yards on 70 carries from Kadarius Calloway. Amariyon Howard leads the group with eight rushing touchdowns.

Defensively, the Lions are led by reigning MACCC and NJCAA Defensive Player of the Week Steven Cattledge, Jr., who has racked up 109 total tackles and 18 tackles-for-loss. Jamori Evans isn't far behind with 82 total tackles and Reggie Neely leads the team with five interceptions and eight pass breakups. 

Punting and kicking duties belong solely to Cole Arthur, who has hit five of his eight field goal attempts and has punted for 1,474 yards, including 14 punts pinned inside the 20-yard line.

The comparisons continue on the sidelines as well, with this marking the ninth meeting between head coaches Benjy Parker and Buddy Stephens. Under Stephens, East Mississippi owns a 7-1 record over Northwest in road games dating back to the start of his tenure in 2008. On the other hand, Parker has won two of the last three battles against Stephens, including a 56-36 victory in Scooba during the 2019 regular season meeting and this year's earlier victory on September 29. Parker is 3-5 against Stephens as a head coach, with two of those wins coming on the road at EMCC.

Pregame coverage of tomorrow's battle begins at 1:30 P.M. on Ranger TV (nwccrangers.com/watch), with kickoff beginning at 2 P.M. on Action News 5 Plus (Roku/Apple TV/Channel 5.5). Tyler Springs and former Memphis offensive lineman Gabe Kuhn will handle play-by-play and color commentary duties.