PERKINSTON — No. 4 Mississippi Gulf Coast broke a first-place tie in the MACCC South in great fashion Thursday night, running through archrival Pearl River for a 41-14 win at A.L. May Memorial Stadium.
The Bulldogs piled up 347 rushing yards, outgaining the Wildcats by nearly 200 yards.
“I couldn’t be more pleased,” Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. “We executed when we needed to. It wasn’t perfect, and there’s always going to be things you want to do better. I’m happy because I see us getting better. That’s all you can ask for as a coach, that’s to improve, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
It was the 102nd meeting between the schools dating back to 1926. The Bulldogs have won six of the last seven meetings and 12 of the last 14.
Pearl River scored on a quick, four-play, 75-drive to start the game, but the Bulldogs responded even faster.
Trey Hall (So., Vicksburg/Warren Central) ran 60 yards on the second Gulf Coast play to make it a 7-6 deficit. After the Regulators’ Damaryion Fillmore (So., Biloxi/Biloxi) picked off a PRCC pass on the next possession, the Bulldogs needed only 77 seconds to take the lead. Hall scored again, this time from 7 yards.
Pearl River went three-and-out, and Landon Varnes (Fr., Brandon/Brandon) connected on a 31-yard pass to Lester Miller to cap an eight-play drive that lasted only 2:04. The three consecutive scores in the first quarter required only 4 minutes, 13 seconds.
Gulf Coast led by that 20-7 margin at the break, but quickly put the game away in the third quarter. Chandler Chapman (So., Bay St. Louis/St. Stanislaus) scored on a 15-yard run for his first touchdown of the year only 3:32 after halftime.
Hall made another house call on the first play of the next possession, going for 70 yards.
Hall needed only 12 carries to gain 171 yards, an eye-popping 14.2-yards per rush. Chapman had 130 yards on 22 carries, nearly 6 yards a pop.
“It felt good,” Chapman said. “Everything was opening up. I could tell after the first run when Trey broke the first one. I got in and broke my first one. I could tell it was going to be a good game.”
JP Coulter closed out the scoring with a 17-yard reception for the Bulldogs’ final points. He led the receiving corps with four catches for 84 yards, and Miller had two catches for 52.
Daniel Martin (So., Marietta, Ga./Marietta) led the Regulators with seven tackles. Tylan Cole (So., Meridian/Meridian) had seven, as well, including a sack. Chris Burton (So., Bogue Chitto/Parklane Academy) and Jonathan Davis (Fr., Monticello/Lawrence County) had sacks, and Jonathan Keys (Fr., Laurel/West Jones) had a tackle for loss.
Pearl River completed only 8 of 15 passes for 53 yards, netting 250 yards on the ground. After the first drive, though, it was tougher sledding.
“We played real good,” Cole said. “We stopped the run after that first drive. It was a little shaky, but we pulled through in the end.”
Pearl River had 303 total yards, but half came on the Wildcats’ 75-yard possession to start the game and a 75-yard drive on their final possession. They averaged only 3.4 yards per play on the snaps in between.
“Pearl River was ready to play,” Wright said. “They came out ready to play, and their emotions were running high, just like ours were. They had a great opening drive, and they had a good plan to run the ball on us.”
Almost the entire MACCC will get next week off. The Bulldogs return to action in two weeks with a trip to Decatur to play East Central.
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
