No. 5 MGCCC holds off No. 14 Jones 20-17

MGCCC safety Dameon Jackson (1) picks off a pass against Jones Oct. 24.

Bulldogs earn 3rd straight MACJC South Division Crown

ELLISVILLE, Ms.---In 2009 it’s been the offense at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College that’s been grabbing all the headlines.

But against Jones Oct. 24, the defense took center stage as the No. 5 Bulldogs held off a late rally by No. 14 Jones to win 20-17 and clinch their third MACJC South Division title in a row and fourth in six years under head coach Steve Campbell. It was also the sixth straight win by Gulf Coast over Jones, a streak that dates back to 2005.

“I believe this was our best defensive performance of the year,” said Campbell. “We didn’t do much on offense in the second half but we kept bouncing back and bouncing back.”

Gulf Coast (8-1, 6-0) stopped Jones twice in the final two minutes of the game to seal the victory. The game clincher came when Bulldog freshman linebacker Brannan Byrd walked down Jones running back Bubba Brown on a fourth-and-2 play with 1:55 to go to ice the game.

“A hole opened up and I shot the gap,” said Byrd. “We knew this game was ours to lose in the second half and we weren’t going to lose it.”

The Bobcats (6-3, 5-1) scored first on a 19-yard TD pass from Brian Robinson to Jamieon Keys to take a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Gulf Coast recovered a muffed punt by Jones and tied the game at 7-7 on Vick Ballard’s 4-yard TD run. That score was Ballard’s 17th rushing TD this season…a new Gulf Coast record.

The Bulldogs took a 14-7 lead late in the first as Greg Jenkins pulled off a Fran Tarkenton-esque scrambling display and threw a 10-yard TD pass to Joe Burnett. Bulldog kicker Bo Bryan added field goals of 37 and 30 yards to give the Bulldogs a 20-7 halftime lead.

The Bobcats began a string of 10 unanswered points in third quarter when Jacob Chancellor booted a 22-yard field goal making it 20-10. Jones closed the gap to 20-17 with 7:45 to go when Chris Lofton scored on a 70-yard punt return.

From there, Gulf Coast got just enough offense to milk the clock, and more than enough defense to slow down Jones.

“We knew we had to play better as the game went on and we did,” said Gulf Coast linebacker Sammy Brown, whose interception of a Brian Robinson pass late in the game stopped a Jones rally. “I was looking for a screen pass, and the ball got in the air and came right to me.”

On the day, the Bulldogs forced four Bobcat turnovers.

“This game didn’t go any differently than I thought it would,” said Steve Campbell. “Jones is a tremendous football team. I’m proud of the way the guys kept battling and scrapping to get the job done.”

The Bulldogs will host Coahoma (6-3) Oct. 31 in the first round of the MACJC State playoffs while Jones will travel to East Mississippi. The winners from those two games will meet Nov. 7 for the MACJC state title. Bulldog fans can catch all the action of next week’s playoff game via streaming video at www.mgcccbulldogs.com.