PRCC to induct five into Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday during Homecoming
POPLARVILLE - Pearl River Community College will induct five new members into its Sports Hall of Fame here Saturday (Oct. 21) as part of the college’s 2017 homecoming celebration.
The list includes former head football coach J.C. Arban (1975-85), whose Wildcat teams won the South Division and MACJC state championship in 1976, and played in the state championship game in 1981. His record at PRCC: 61-37-4.
Joining Arban in this year’s class is first-team All-State and All-Region defensive lineman John Feaster (2000-02) of Picayune, who was an all-state first-team player for the Maroon Tide and became a preseason All-American at PRCC in 2001.
The other inductees include baseball star Matt Riser (2003-05) of Picayune, who earned All-Region XXII honors and Region XXII Defensive Player of the Year honors as a sophomore, helping PRCC to the state title; first-team All-American soccer star Emmaleigh Davis (2011) of Pascagoula, and All-State and All-Region softball star Jessica Dubuisson Morris (2006-08) of Hancock County.
Induction ceremonies for the Sports Hall of Fame members will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday (Oct. 21) in Olivia Bender Cafeteria on the PRCC campus.
All five will be recognized before the PRCC-Gulf Coast football game at Dobie Holden Stadium. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.
All photos courtesy of PRCC
Coach J.C. Arban
Arban had eight winning seasons in his 10 years as coach of the Wildcats, beginning with his first season at 7-2 in 1975. His teams won two South Division championships.
Prior to getting into the coaching profession, Arban was a halfback for Southern Mississippi from 1955 to 1958 whose pride and dedication carried him into the history books as one of the outstanding Golden Eagle players of all time. The 1956 team would finish the year at 7-2-1 and Arban was the second leading rusher on the team with 84 carries for 380 yards (4.5 average) and two touchdowns.
Arban continued to be one of the most versatile players the Golden Eagles had ever had and in 1957 his role expanded even more. He rushed 49 times for 184 yards (3.8 average) and a touchdown and led the team in receiving with six catches for 124 yards (20.7 average) and two touchdowns. He was a key member of the 1958 Southern Miss team that won the UPI College Division National Championship in 1958. He later served as an assistant coach at Southern Miss under P.W. Underwood in 1973 and 1974.
John Feaster
As a player at PRCC, Feaster stood 6-foot-2 and weighed 280 pounds. As a sophomore, he finished the year with 48 tackles. He recorded 2.5 quarterback sacks (second-best on the team), while causing one fumble and recovering a team-high three miscues while playing for coaches Keith Daniels and Scott Maxfield.
“I am forever grateful and thankful that I had the opportunity to play and attend classes at Pearl River,” said Feaster. “I was blessed to have my mother (Elnora Jenkins) there every Thursday and occasional Saturdays for every game. I was blessed to play for the late Keith Daniels. He gave me a chance to make a difference.”
Feaster went on to play for the University of Cincinnati and graduated from there in 2004. He is currently in his second season as the head football coach at Stone High School in Wiggins. He and his wife, Nakisha, have three children and live in Carriere.
Matt Riser
On the diamond, Riser was a main reason PRCC won a state title. He batted .376 as a sophomore and .347 as a freshman, compiling 110 hits, 30 doubles and 109 runs scored in his two-year junior college career. The Mississippi native prepped at Picayune Memorial High and was an All-State selection as a senior. Riser earned his degree in biomedical engineering from Tulane University in 2007.
Riser began his coaching career at Tulane after playing with the Green Wave in 2005-06. During his senior season, he belted three home runs, 37 RBI and 16 doubles. During his junior campaign he helping Tulane reach the College World Series in 2005.
Riser played at PRCC and was coached by Bay St. Louis native Jay Artigues, the former PRCC head coach and Southeastern Louisiana head coach and current Lions director of athletics. After coaching at Tulane, Riser became the primary hitting coach at Southeastern Louisiana under Artigues and worked with the Lions outfielders. He is in his fifth season as the head baseball coach at Southeastern. He and his wife, Jeanette, have a son, and expect their second child soon.
Emmaleigh Davis
Davis prepped at Resurrection Catholic High School in Pascagoula, where she was a four-time most valuable player and still holds the record for most goals scored. She also played for Gulf Coast United Futbol Club for eight years and was a captain for four years.
As a college freshman, she played one season for the University of Memphis, leading her team to the Conference USA championship.
She transferred to PRCC in 2011 where she played in every game, scored 30 goals, had 21 assists, and is the only Wildcat soccer player to be named a first-team All American.
After PRCC, she played two seasons at William Carey University, earned second-team All-American honors as a senior and still holds the record for most goals scored in a season. Davis returned to PRCC as an assistant coach under Jack Byrd in 2014-15.
An apprentice, she works as a pipefitter at Ingalls Shipbuilding. She and her three-month-old daughter live in Pascagoula.
Jessica Dubuisson Morris
Morris played two seasons at PRCC. As a freshman, she was All-Region, as a sophomore All-Region 23 and All-American nominee with a 17-4 pitching record. She was voted PRCC’s most athletic.
After receiving her PRCC degree, she had a chance to further her playing career, but chose to earn a degree in practical nursing instead. She works at Mississippi Home Care and part-time at Pearl River County Hospital in Poplarville.
She and her husband, Aaron Morris, are the parents of two children and live in Hancock County.
