PERKINSTON, Miss. — No. 3 East Mississippi will face No. 13 Kilgore in the ninth Mississippi Bowl, to be played Dec. 4.
The Lions are the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges champions. The Rangers were runners-up in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference playoffs.
This year’s game will be played Dec. 4 at newly renovated A.L. May Memorial Stadium in Perkinston. Kickoff 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 are available for $20.
East Mississippi (10-1) has won all three of its appearances in the Mississippi Bowl: 2009, 2013 and 2014. The last two times it has won the national championship, beating No. 1 Georgia Military 52-32 and No. 2 Iowa Western 34-17.
Kilgore (6-4) will be making its first appearance in the Mississippi Bowl. The Rangers lost 48-41 in overtime to No. 4 Trinity Valley in its conference’s championship game.
East Mississippi won the MACJC championship by defeating No. 5 Northwest 38-30 last weekend. The Lions had outscored opponents 504-228 and are riding a 10-game win streak. They have thrown for 276.9 yards per game and run for 231.5 yards per game, while allowing just over 300 yards per game.
Kilgore features a balanced offensive attack that piles up almost 450 yards per game. The Rangers average more than 43 points 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
