No. 11 Gulf Coast closes out regular season vs. ICC

PERKINSTON – No. 11 Mississippi Gulf Coast faces a stout Homecoming test this week when Itawamba visits Perkinston on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

In a strange twist, the South Division-champion Bulldogs (6-2, 5-1 MACJC South) will face the Indians (6-2, 4-2 MACJC North) again the following Saturday.

The MACJC kicked East Mississippi out of the playoffs following a Thursday night brawl against Mississippi Delta just before halftime of their game in Moorhead. That bumped up Northwest, the original opponent, to the top seed and brought ICC back into the playoffs.

"It's a big game for us coming off the Co-Lin loss," Gulf Coast coach Chad Huff said. "We need to clean some things up and really play well this week. It's Homecoming, so there will be a lot of folks here seeing this team play for the first time."

Gulf Coast leads the series 32-15-1, with the Bulldogs having won seven straight dating back to 2001.

The Indians are riding a three-game win streak in which they've outscored their opponents 136-21. Itawamba is coached by Sean Cannon.

Cannon and Gulf Coast coach Chad Huff were teammates at roommates at Delta State. They are both in their second seasons as head coaches.

"He brings a lot of intensity to that football team," Huff said. "They're going to be ready to play us. This is their last game of the season, so they want to end on a positive. It would make their season to beat us on Homecoming."

Gulf Coast had breakdowns in all three phases of the game at key moments in a 31-30 overtime loss at Wesson last week. The Bulldogs got 102 yards rushing from Chris Robinson and another 101 from Ge'Vonte Jones, who scored a touchdown.

Itawamba plays a pressure defense, with a lot of linebacker blitzes.

Quarterback Kwadra Griggs has thrown for 1,768 yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions for Itawamba. They spread the ball around to a host of receivers, with eight receivers having at least 10 catches and none having as many as 30.

"They're four-wide. They don't give you many formations, but they try to play fast," Huff said. "We're going to have to keep our heads in the game defensively."

Octavious Matthews has run for 649 yards, averaging 8.7 yards per rush. Kadarius Forside has six touchdowns rushing to lead the team.

Gulf Coast has averaged 32.9 points per game this year, with Itawamba just behind at 32.4 despite having outgained the Bulldogs in total offense (428.8 yards to 362.8).

The formula for getting back on the winning track before the playoffs is a simple one for Gulf Coast.

"It's getting back to not turning the ball over and not giving up the big plays," Huff said "If we do that, we've got a chance to win each game. It's not going to be any different this week."

GAME #9

No. 11 MGCCC (6-2, 5-1 MACJC South) vs. Itawamba (5-3, 4-2 MACJC North)

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 24, 3:30 p.m.

WHERE: A.L. May Memorial Stadium, Perkinston

ONLINE: Watch at mgcccbulldogs.com/BulldogLIVE

THE SERIES 

·     Gulf Coast 32-15-1

·     First Meeting: 1952

·     Last Meeting (2014):  MGCCC 49, ICC 3

·     MGCCC has won last seven meetings dating to 2001