With only four games left in the regular season, the Bulldogs of Holmes Community College find themselves tied at the top of the MACJC North Division football standings alongside perennial NJCAA National power East Mississippi Community College.
Holmes shook the MACJC world with an impressive 47-42 win over Northwest Community College last week. At the time the Rangers were the No. 3 ranked team in the nation. While HCC has been outscored 139-96 on the season and stands at 2-3 overall, the important thing is that the Bulldogs appear to be peaking at the right time and are 2-0 in league play.
Holmes has a change to solidify its share of the top spot with a 6:30 p.m. rod trip to Itawamba on Thursday night. The Indians are 1-2 overall and 1-4 in league play.
Gulf Coast and East Central are on top of the MACJC South Division standings with identical 2-0 league records.
— Austin Bishop
CUSA HONORS ABRAHAM
Southern Miss quarterback Jack Abraham earned the Conference USA Player of the Week honors for his role in a 31-13 victory over UTEP last Saturday to being league play.
The redshirt junior threw for a season-high 351 yards passing and three touchdowns passes on 19-of-28 attempts, including a 74-yard scoring strike to De'Michael Harris. He added touchdown passes of 22 and 6 yards.
He orchestrated a Southern Miss offense that collected 519 total offensive yards.
It was the second 300-plus passing game for Abraham this season and the fifth time in his 14th career game. It was also the third time he has thrown at least three touchdown passes in a game in his career and has thrown at least one TD pass in each of the last seven contests.
— school reports
MISSISSIPPIAN LEADS NATION
Former Laurel High School standout Omar Bayless is leading the NCAA in receiving at Arkansas State University. Bayless caught 10 passes for 213 yards including a 92-yard touchdown in a 50-43 win over Troy last week. On the year, he has 36 catches for 689 yards and seven touchdowns.
— Dale McKee
ECCC STAR WINS AL BATTING TITLE
Former East Central Community College baseball standout and current Chicago White Sox star Tim Anderson finished the Major League Baseball season on Sunday with a 335 batting average, making him tops in the American League. The shortstop also ripped 18 homers, recorded 17 stolen bases, scored 81 runs, and drove in 56.
As a sophomore at East Central Anderson led all fo the NJCAA in hitting with a .495 average. The Whit Sox drafted Anderson in the first round. He had gone undrafted after his freshman season at ECCC, where he hit .360.
Anderson, now 26, played his high school baseball at Hillcrest in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He had a huge turnaround in 2019. He raised his average nearly .100 points, after hitting .250 in 2018 and .257 in 2017.
— Austin Bishop
