PHOTO CREDIT: Carly Fox (Northwest Mississippi)
POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River football team opened the 2024 season in the best way possible last week, going on the road and upsetting No. 7 Northwest, 24-23. The schedule doesn’t get any easier from there, though, as the Wildcats are now preparing to make another four-and-a-half-hour drive to take on Itawamba.
NWCC had an opportunity to take the lead with less than three minutes to go but a huge defensive stand by the Wildcats led to a missed field goal. PRCC eventually iced the clock to earn the 24-23 victory. The victory over Northwest snapped a six-game skid against the Rangers.
Pearl River now turns its attention to Itawamba for the first time since August 29, 2019, when PRCC threw a touchdown pass with 16 seconds left on the clock to win 35-31.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Kabe Barnett (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) had a solid performance against his former team, completing 11 of 25 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns. He also did a great job of tucking the ball and running when his receivers weren’t open, rumbling for 65 yards on nine carries.
Jacobi Jefferson (Slidell, La.; Salmen) was the back that PRCC turned to in the ground game. The freshman racked up 20 carries for 65 yards and a score. He also caught one pass for a 24-yard touchdown, losing a pair of defenders on his way to the endzone.
Henry Lee Jr. (Kenner, La.; East Jefferson) was PRCC’s leading threat as a receiver, catching three passes for 38 yards and a score. Javonta Caldwell (Laurel) hauled in four passes.
The Wildcat offensive line allowed just one sack in the contest.
Pearl River’s defensive unit got off to a great start, picking up seven tackles-for-loss in the opener. Amarion Tyson (Picayune) and Travis Bendolph Jr. (Mobile, Ala.; Theodore) led PRCC in tackles with eight each. Both players picked up one tackle-for-loss.
ABOUT THE INDIANS
Itawamba also enters to contest off a victory as the Indians hit the road and took down Hinds in a defense-heavy contest. ICC knocked a 20-yard field goal through the uprights with eight minutes left in the third quarter, which proved to be the decisive blow.
Quarterback Ty Davis completed 18 of 35 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown. His leading receiver was Zae Davis, who caught nine passes for 117 yards. Chris Reed had five receptions for 46 yards.
On the ground, the Indians used a committee. Jaylen Foster ran 12 times for 82 yards, Jaylen Sulton ran 14 times for 61 yards and Mykel Allen had 12 attempts for 44 yards.
Defensively, the Indians got after the quarterback, registering an incredible nine sacks in the contest. The efforts were led by Orel Gray, JD Methvin and Jayden Walker who each had two. Gray also led the team in total tackles with 10.
According to Pearl River record books, the Wildcats hold a 26-16-1 all-time series lead over the Indians.
TUNE IN
All Pearl River football games are livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com/Gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the “Pearl River CC” channel from their app stores.
Games can also be heard at WRJW 1320-AM, 106.9 FM and WRJWRadio.com.
TICKETS
Tickets for Pearl River home games are on sale now at PRCCAthletics.com/tickets. General admission football season passes are $38, while chairback reserved seating is $75. All-sport passes are also on sale and are $123. The pass grants entry to all PRCC regular season competitions.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
