BOONEVILLE, Miss. - A group of men that led the Northeast Mississippi Community College football program to the best season in its modern era are reuniting to reminisce on their many good moments together.
The 2005 edition of the Tigers will hold a 20-year reunion on Thursday, September 25. It will coincide with Northeast's home division matchup with Northwest Mississippi Community College.
The celebration will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the outdoor pavilion beside the fieldhouse at Tiger Stadium with a meal available around 30 minutes later. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. between Northeast and the Rangers.
Andy Greening, who was in his third of five seasons as head coach of the Tigers, is organizing this event. He is pleased that this reunion is finally coming to fruition after years of discussion about its possibility.
"It's a dream come true for all of us. We've been talking about it for years and I just decided that it was time," he said. "I just hope and pray that they can all figure out a way to get there because we want to see every one of them."
Northeast went 7-2 overall, which included the first-ever undefeated regular season in school history. The Tigers ran the tables to a north division championship with an average margin of victory of 25 points.
However, the Tigers got off to a slower start after the impacts of Hurricane Katrina canceled their first two contests. Northeast's defense produced a fourth down stop with less than two minutes remaining in a 20-13 win over Holmes Community College in its delayed opener.
The Tigers impressed from there with 40-plus point victories in their next two games against rival Itawamba Community College and Mississippi Delta Community College. The only other division opponent that stayed within two possessions of Northeast was Coahoma Community College at 16 points.
"We felt like we had a chance to make a run if we ever were going to," said Greening. "They were a very special group. There's no question about that. It was overall an enjoyable group to coach because they were so talented."
The Tigers were eliminated in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) semifinals, but still earned an invitation to travel west to Mount Pleasant, Texas, for the Pilgrim's Pride Bowl Classic.
Cameron Montgomery (Houston, Texas) had touchdown runs of one and two yards that gave Northeast a 14-10 lead with 12:46 to go in the third quarter. Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College scored 14 unanswered points from there to ruin the Tigers' inaugural bowl appearance.
Northeast rose to as high as No. 2 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) rankings before settling at No. 15 in the final poll. The Tigers were also rated inside the top 10 in the country in both total offense with 399 yards per game and total defense.
Several Tigers received postseason accolades, including Greening as the MACJC Co-Coach of the Year. Chris Bradwell (Jacksonville, Fla.) secured NJCAA Region 23 Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors at the Pilgrim's Pride Bowl Classic.
Quarterback Bruce Hall (Milton, Fla.), defensive back Justin Sanders (Pearl) and offensive lineman Antezdra Thigpen (Holly Springs) were recognized as the best players in the region at their respective positions.
Joining those four on the all-state first-team were linebacker Nikko Doyle (South Panola), linebacker Stanley Lykes (Birmingham, Ala.), offensive lineman Hollis Hoskins (South Panola) and Montgomery.
Second-team all-state recipients were offensive lineman Matt Blanchard (Saltillo), defensive back Chris Nance (Tuscumbia, Ala.), defensive lineman Cortez Lawrence (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), defensive lineman Greg Smith (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and tight end Charles Twilley (South Panola).
Five Tigers were selected to compete in the MACJC All-Star Game, including wide receiver Robert Fox (Calhoun City), defensive lineman Andrew Murphy (Booneville), Blanchard, Hall and Lawrence.
Michael Ricks (Leighton, Ala.), Bradwell, Hall and Sanders eventually concluded their careers by signing free agent contracts with National Football League (NFL) franchises.