MGCCC No. 3 in NJCAA/JC. Football.com pre-season football poll

Bulldogs have four All-Americans on pre-season list

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College enters the 2008 football season ranked No. 3 in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) JC.Football.com pre-season football poll. The Bulldogs are coming off a 2007 season which featured an undefeated record (12-0) and the college being named NJCAA and JCFootball.com National Co-Champions along with Butler College (Kansas). The 2007 team also won the college’s first MACJC state title since 1986.

Butler (12-0 in 2007) is the nation’s top-ranked team, with Blinn College (Texas, 7-3 in 2007) at No. 2.

Four Bulldogs players also earned pre-season NJCAA All-American honors. Kicker Sean Brauchle, a sophomore from Biloxi, garnered first-team All-American Honors on offense. In 2007, the 5-foot-10, 180 pounder was also a first-team honoree.

Sophomore linebacker Chris White is a first-team All-American on defense. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound sophomore from Vancleave helped lead a Bulldog defense that ranked No. 1 in the state in rushing defense and total defense.

Meanwhile, sophomore running back/defensive back Demond Washington and offensive lineman P.K. Keyes are second-team All-American honorees. Washington (5’10,” 185 pounds) scored 13 touchdowns in 2007, including two on punt returns. He also ran for 209 yards rushing and 349 total yards in the Bulldogs’ 62-28 C.H.A.M.P.S Heart of Texas Bowl victory over Kilgore College (Tx.).

Keyes (6’4,” 325 pounds), a sophomore from Gulfport, helped a Bulldog offense that outscored its opponents 440-167, with the 440 total being the most in college history.

However, the euphoria of a national championship faded for head football coach Steve Campbell as soon as the Bulldogs began spring drills last April.

“We’ve got to put last year behind us,” he said. “Last year is gone. There are 22 guys on this year’s team who played last year. People talk about ‘repeating’ or whatever…it’s not repeating; it’s doing it again with a fresh start.”