PERKINSTON — No. 4 Mississippi Gulf Coast still has work to do cleaning things up after a big win last week, and the Bulldogs face an offense they already know can do a lot of damage quickly.
Gulf Coast travels to Summit to play Southwest Mississippi on Thursday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Hurst Stadium.
“They’re very explosive,” Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. “They do a great job of throwing the ball around. They have some explosive receivers, some fast receivers. They have guys that scare you.”
The game will be streamed at https://go.smccbears.tv/, and the Gulf Coast radio broadcast can be heard on SuperTalk-103.1 FM or streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch. The Bulldogs have won 17 straight meetings against the Bears and lead the series 64-22-3.
Last year’s win, however, was no walk in the park. Southwest led 20-7 after the first half before Gulf Coast rallied for a 55-33 victory. The Bears threw for 260 yards.
Southwest is still looking for its first victory, but the passing attack remains formidable. They’re averaging 233.7 yards in the air, with freshman Henry Brewer running the show. Sophomore receivers Damarcco Blanton and Marcellus Jackson have combined for 33 receptions for 426 yards and two touchdowns. Blanton caught a 72-yard touchdown pass last year.
The Bulldogs beat then-No. 10 Jones 27-20 in a vital comeback last week, but they trailed midway through the fourth quarter. There were plenty of things to address after watching the game.
“We made some mistakes early in the game that are head-scratchers,” Wright said. “There were things we got away with that we probably shouldn’t have. It’s nothing that can’t be fixed. A lot of fixable mistakes that I wish we hadn’t made so we can be as good as we want to be.”
The Bulldogs are benefitting from a found gem they moved over from defensive line. Matt Adcock (So., Raleigh/Simpson Academy) was productive on that side of the ball last year, and he’s become a reliable target in the passing game.
The coaching staff suspected he had those skills when they recruited him, but there’s one key ingredient that has allowed him to pull off the move.
“His commitment to making that transition and making himself be able to pull it off at this level, it was a lot of work,” Wright said. “He put in a lot of work with his position coach, Ethan Anderson. He put in a lot of work after practice catching balls. He did everything he could to make himself be able to play tight end at a high level. He dserves a lot of credit for being determined to pull that off.”
Game #4
WHO: MGCCC (3-0, 1-0 MACCC South) vs. Southwest (0-3, 0-1 MACCC South)
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 19, 7 p.m.
WHERE: John I. Hurst Stadium, Summit
WATCH: https://go.smccbears.tv/
AUDIO STREAM: https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch
LISTEN: SuperTalk 103.1 FM
The Series
Series record: Gulf Coast leads 64-22-3
First Meeting: 1931
Last Meeting: Sept. 21, 2023, Gulf Coast 55, Southwest 33
Notes: Gulf Coast has won the last 17 meetings, dating back to 2007 … The Bulldogs have scored 40 or more points in the last eight games… The Bulldogs are one win away from tying their longest streak in the series between 1962 and 1979… Gulf Coast is averaging 46.8 points in that streak, Southwest 14.9 … Gulf Coast has 16 shutouts in its 59 victories … Southwest has three shutouts, the last of which came in 1958 … Southwest’s longest win streak is seven between 1995 and 2001 … The biggest Gulf Coast win in school history came in this series in 1962 (77-6), while the biggest for Southwest was in 2000 (55-19).
For more information on MGCCC’s 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
This post originally posted at https://www.mgcccbulldogs.com/landing/index by MGCCC Athletics
