No. 5 Bulldogs pull away from Wildcats

PHOTO BY KERRY BASS/MGCCC

PERKINSTON — No. 5 Mississippi Gulf Coast expected a battle from archrival Pearl River on Thursday night, and it was a struggle for much of the night.

The Bulldogs, however, pulled away in the second half by putting up four scores to beat the Wildcats 33-10 and stay perfect on the season.

"We ground it out, which is kind of becoming a theme two weeks in a row," Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. "There were a lot tough, hard-fought first downs and a lot of tough, hard-fought points. That's kind of the makeup of our team right now. There's plenty of mistakes to clean up, but I'd rather do that after a win than a loss."

Gulf Coast won its third straight to open the season, playing for the first time in 2021 at A.L. May Memorial Stadium. Pearl River dropped to 1-2 in the first MACCC South game for both teams. It was the fourth straight win for the Bulldogs in the series and 10^th win in the last 11 meetings.

The Bulldogs offense scuffled much of the first half, but they went 59 yards in 12 plays running the two-minute offense before halftime. 

"I think the drive that sticks out to me is the one right before halftime," Wright said. "We did not score, but we ran our plays at a good tempo and I think Philip got in a good rhythm and he kept that the rest of the game. We were able to make some plays in the third quarter to extend drives and put ourselves in position to score."

Pearl River turned its second play from scrimmage in the second half into an 85-yard score to tie the game at 10. Two drives later, the Bulldogs offense kicked things into high gear.

They reeled off a 20-play, 83-yard drive to take the lead. Cam Thomas (So., Picayune/Picayune) punched in his first touchdown of the night from 2 yards for a 16-10 lead.

"The offense came back out, and we stepped up and really went hard," Gulf Coast offensive lineman Percy Lewis said. "We kept pushing the ball up the field. We've got more to come, and I'm looking forward to it."

The Regulators forced a three-and-out, setting up a 78-yard drive by the Bulldogs. Jalen Bracey (So., Jackson/Murrah) made it last only seven plays because he took the last one 50 yards on a sideline-skirting run following a pass from Philip Short (So., Flowood/Madison-Ridgeland Academy). 

Wasson added his second field goal in the fourth quarter, and Thomas got his second TD on a 21-yard run in the final two minutes. Thomas ran for 129 yards on 21 carries, and the Bulldogs outgained PRCC 435-409.

"We started off slow and did a good job of picking each other up," Gulf Coast defensive back DeCarlos Nicholson said. "Things weren't going well, and we kept shooting ourselves in the foot. We did good staying positive and sticking to what coach told us."

Nicholson (So., Petal/Petal) had a fourth-quarter interception, the Bulldogs' second of the game. Mike Smith's pick in the first quarter helped stake Gulf Coast to a 10-3 lead. Smith (So., Flora/Ridgeland) picked off a pass and returned it deep into Wildcats territory. 

"That was an incredible play," Wright said. "For a linebacker who's 235 pounds, to go up and snag a really good ball is amazing. It didn't have any air under it; he had to go up and got that thing and looked like a receiver."

Xavier Evans (Fr., Laurel/Laurel) cleaned up with a 12-yard scoring run. Dylan Wasson (Fr., Madison/Germantown) added a 39-yard field goal. 

The Regulators allowed only 14 first downs, although they gave up 271 yards rushing. Pearl River turned the ball over three times, and the Wildcats had 17 of 30 penalties in a yellow-flag fiesta.

"We've leaned on our defense the past three years," Wright said. "I'm really proud of that group. Its' a bunch of good athletes. We've got a variety of guys with different skillsets, and Coach (Brett) Shufelt is using them to the best of their abilities."

Wright moved into third place by himself for most coaching wins in Gulf Coast history with 27. He's one of two Bulldogs coaches with perfect records against PRCC (Louis Megehee, 2-0)

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