No. 10 MGCCC bounces back with 10-3 win over Pearl River

MGCCC quarterback Greg Jenkins (13) hands the ball to Earvin Moore (4) against Pearl River Sept. 25.

Bulldogs “wipe the slate clean” by beating archrival Wildcats

What a difference a week makes.

Seven days after being upset by East Mississippi 27-23, No. 10 Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College bounced back in a big way by beating No. 6 Pearl River 10-3 Thursday night in Poplarville. In the biggest game of the season, playing in front of an overflow crowd against the archrival Wildcats at Dobie Holden Stadium, Gulf Coast scored as quarterback Greg Jenkins muscled his way in from 1-yard out to put the Bulldogs up 10-3 with 1:20 to go in the contest.

Pearl River’s desperation drive to tie the game ended when Wayne Dorsey sacked Wildcats quarterback Emil Jones and time ran out.

“On that last series, we had to make a stop,” said Gulf Coast defensive back Bradley Jacobs. “We couldn’t let them score. We knew if we stopped them, that was the ball game.”

It was a game dominated by defense, penalties, and the occasional big play. Gulf Coast’s only score of the first half came in the first quarter thanks to a 49-yard field goal by All-American kicker Sean Brauchle.

Gulf Coast threatened to score twice late in the second quarter. The first chance came as Bulldog running back Jamal Young took a reverse 53 yards deep into Wildcat territory. Young, a sophomore from Jackson, finished the game with 129 yards rushing. Earvin Moore appeared to score on a 16-yard run on the next play, but a holding penalty nullified the touchdown. The drive produced no points as Brauchle missed a 39-yard field goal.

The Bulldogs got the ball back on a pass interception by Dameon Jackson, his fifth of the season. However, a fumble inside the 20 squandered that scoring opportunity.

Pearl River (4-1, 1-1) also notched a field goal in the first half to make it a 3-3 game at halftime.

The second half featured more defense and special teams miscues by Pearl River. Just like Gulf Coast a week before, woes in the kicking game stymied the Wildcats. Pearl River missed three field goals and turned the ball over twice to Gulf Coast.

In the fourth quarter with more than 8 minutes to go, the Bulldogs embarked on their 16-play game winning drive which culminated with the Greg Jenkins touchdown out of the team’s “jumbo” formation.

“After we scored that touchdown, I knew we had it,” said Bulldog running back Vic Ballard. “Coach kept telling us to always look forward to the next play, and that’s what we did tonight.”

Pearl River got the ball into Bulldog territory on the game’s final drive, but Dorsey’s sack of Emil Jones ended the threat and got Gulf Coast back on the winning track.

“You can’t worry about the last play,” said Gulf Coast head coach Steve Campbell. “You’ve got to play the next one. Our defense kept us in the game to a point where we were able to do that. On offense, we kept plugging away.”

The Bulldogs wore white pants against Pearl River because Campbell wanted to “start off with a clean slate” after last week’s loss to East Mississippi.

It worked, and now the Bulldogs (4-1, 2-0) still have a shot as repeating as MACJC state champs.

“This week we went from the penthouse to the outhouse,” he said. “I think right now we need to think about moving to the suburbs. In other words, the highs are high and the lows are low, and we need to stay somewhere in the middle.”

Gulf Coast travels to Co-Lin to take on the Wolves Oct. 4 at 5 p.m. Bulldog fans can catch all the action on News Radio 104.9FM, and via streaming audio at www.mgccc.edu.