MGCCC Quarterback Andrew Carcich directs the Bulldogs offense against Holmes Aug. 31.

Total domination: That’s the only way to describe the 68-0 opening-night lambasting the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Bulldogs put on Holmes Aug. 31 at A.L. May Memorial Stadium on the Perkinston Campus.

"It was a good way to open the season," said Steve Campbell, head coach at Gulf Coast. "I was really pleased that we won both sides of the line of scrimmage."

The Bulldogs jumped on Holmes quickly and never let up. It started with a Jason Fairly interception on Holmes' first drive of the game. Nine plays later, Andrew Carcich rifled a six-yard strike to Co-Eric Riley to make it 7-0 Gulf Coast. Carcich, a freshman from St. Martin, felt at ease in his first taste of community college football.

“I felt very comfortable,” Carcich said. “We’ve come a long way since practice began two weeks ago.”

“I was very proud of Andrew,” Campbell said. “He orchestrated the offense very well.”

Then the Bulldogs’ special teams got into the act. Gulf Coast blocked Taylor Mullins' punt, and Marquis Powell scooped the ball up at the 10 for an easy score and a 13-0 lead with 6:55 left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, a long punt return by Alec Banks set up the next Bulldogs score. Austin Divinity’s 25-yard run off a reverse to make it 20-0, and the rout was on.

On its next possession, Gulf Coast put the game away with an 80-yard scoring drive, capped by a 5-yard run by Larry Warner. Gulf Coast lead 27-0 with 4:43 left in the first half.

Despite nursing a tender hamstring, Warner rushed for 168 yards. Each time his defensive teammates took the field, Warner rode the exercise bicycle on the sideline to keep his legs fresh.

“I’m trying to be like Lance Armstrong,” Warner said. “It’s fun to sit here and watch our defense. It’s tough and quick.”

Marquis Powell celebrates one of his three touchdowns during MGCCC’S 68-0 rout of Holmes Aug. 31.

With one minute left in the half, Powell played on offense and scored from the 1 for a 34-0 lead. Stevon Howse returned a Chris Herron pass 33 yards for a score and a 41-0 halftime lead.

Early in the second half, Powell returned a Holmes fumble from 24 yards out to give Gulf Coast a 47-0 lead. That gave Powell football’s equivalent of hitting for the cycle, as he scored touchdowns in all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams.

“He scored three times and we only handed him the ball one time. That is amazing," Campbell said. "I saw some great things out of the special teams and the defense pitched a shutout.”

Campbell was concerned before the contest about how his team would play with so many freshmen in the starting lineup. Afterwards, he credited the Bulldog sophomores for helping the younger players adjust to football at the next level.

“Our sophomores really stepped up as leaders,” Campbell said.

The 68-0 win was the most lopsided season-opening win in the college’s history, and that point total is the second most dating back to 1926.