The NJCAA football national championship will once again be decided at the Mississippi Bowl, which will be played for the 10th time this year. No. 1 East Mississippi will take on No. 2 Arizona Western on Dec. 3 at historic A.L. May Memorial Stadium.
It’s the fourth time in the last five years the nation’s best team will be crowned at the Mississippi Bowl. It’s also a rematch of the 2009 Mississippi Bowl, which saw East Mississippi win 27-24. Kickoff in Perkinston is at 2 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased through the game’s website, MississippiBowl.com. Tickets are $10 for adult and $7 for students. A limited number of chairback tickets in the home grandstand (East Mississippi side) are available for $20.
East Mississippi (10-1) has won all four of its appearances in the Mississippi Bowl: 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2016. Two of those games resulted in national championships for the Lions. They defeated Georgia Military 52-32 in 2013 and Iowa Western 34-17 in 2014.
Arizona Western (9-0) will be making its first trip back to South Mississippi since 2009. The Matadors won the Western States Football League title this year and were national runners-up last year.
The Lions won the MACJC championship in dramatic fashion Saturday, defeating then-No. 4 Northwest Mississippi 67-66. East Mississippi went for two in the second overtime and made it to clinch the title. The Lions lead the country at 50.9 points per game and are fourth in total offense (516.6 yards).
Arizona Western is ninth in the nation in scoring (41.0 points) and seventh in total offense (474.7 yards). The Matadors give up 250.6 yards per game, eighth-best in the country. They also have the sixth-best rushing attack in the country at 275.7 yards per game.
Past Mississippi Bowl results
2008: Gulf Coast 41, Georgia Military College 7
2009: East Mississippi 27, Arizona Western 24
2010: Gulf Coast 62, Grand Rapids 53
2011: Gulf Coast 46, Blinn 17
2012: Garden City 31, Copiah-Lincoln 29
2013: East Mississippi 52, Georgia Military College 32
2014: East Mississippi 34, Iowa Western 17
2015: Northwest Mississippi 66, Rochester 13
2016: East Mississippi 27, Kilgore 17
