No. 17 MGCCC looking for improvement against EMCC

PERKINSTON — No. 17 Mississippi Gulf Coast has spent the week since a disappointing season-opening loss looking at itself.

The Bulldogs lost 23-12 at Itawamba and face No. 12 East Mississippi in the home opener at newly renovated A.L. May Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

"We've been working on the fundamentals, the basics," Gulf Coast coach Chad Huff said. "We made a bunch of mistakes the first game of the year, things we took for granted as coaches. We're focused on making Gulf Coast a better football team. Our focus has been on us more than anything."

It will be Mississippi State University Night in Perkinston, with administrators and recruiters from MSU in attendance to meet with prospective students.

Both teams are looking for the first wins of the season, with the short-handed Lions falling on the road to Jones County 27-25. A substantial portion of their roster was sidelined by suspension from a season-ending fight in the last game of the 2015 regular season.

East Mississippi will have a full complement of players this week.

"They're a really good football team," Huff said. "They played with 20 less guys the other night against Jones and had a chance to win. They're a team with a lot of talent."

He saw good things from a defensive line that played nearly intact, and he expects the Lions offense to be a big threat.

"We're going to have to do a good job defensively," Huff said. "They're a big play football team. They're going to throw it down the football team and take big shots."

Looking back to the first game, almost every bright spot was tarnished by a "but."

The Gulf Coast defensive line played well, but Itawamba's quarterback was able to move the chains with his feet. Quarterback Kalen Whitlow (6-1, 190, Fr., Northview/Dothan, Ala.) played well, but the offense sputtered thanks to eight dropped passes. The special teams played well, but a dropped punt snap caused a turnover on downs.

"As a whole, as a team, I was disappointed in the way we played," Huff said. "We've got to bounce back this week. You make the most improvement between that first and second football games. I challenged our guys to come back Thursday night and look like a different football team."

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCAthletics on Twitter and BulldogLIVE on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.