No. 17 Gulf Coast falls to No. 12 East Mississippi

PERKINSTON — No. 17 Mississippi Gulf Coast traded punches with No. 12 East Mississippi in the first half of an anticipated MACJC showdown.

But an early second-half turnover helped pave the way for a 45-7 defeat for the Bulldogs in front of a huge crowd Thursday at newly renovated A.L. May Memorial Stadium.

"I thought early on, what we wanted to do offensively and defensively, we were having success," Gulf Coast coach Chad Huff said. "We just have to finish. We didn't play 60 minutes, and that's the result you get."

Gulf Coast returns to action next Thursday, playing for the second week in a row in Perkinston. No. 4 Copiah-Lincoln visits for the first South Division matchup of the season.

The teams exchanged turnovers on the first three drives of the game Thursday, but it was a blocked punt that led to the first points of the night.

Gulf Coast's Lester Wells (6-0, 180, So., Adams County Christian/Natchez) swept around left end untouched and smothered Taylor Crabtree's kick. Derrick Dixon (6-2, 190, Fr., Warren Central/Vicksburg) recovered at the EMCC 1 for the Bulldogs.

Quarterback Kalen Whitlow (6-1, 190, Fr., Northview/Dothan, Ala.) snuck it in on the next play for a 7-0 lead.

The Lions marched down the field on the ensuing possession and scored on a De'Andre Johnson-to-Ja'Moz Mark 27-yard yard touchdown pass. Gulf Coast maintained the lead when the extra point was blocked.

East Mississippi took the lead with 2:23 left on a 22-yard touchdown pass to Brooks Shannon. The two-point conversion made it 14-7.

Gulf Coast received the opening kickoff of the second half, but fumbled on the second play from scrimmage. East Mississippi converted the short field into another touchdown on an Isaiah Wright reception.

"I know tonight, we had a chance down 14-7," Huff said, "and you come out the second half and start off with a turnover. They cash in. Credit to those guys."

The Lions would go on to pull away the rest of the second half.

"Our guys have a tendency to drop their heads when something bad happens," Gulf Coast defensive coordinator Steve Davis said. "We've got to change that. We played really hard and really smart for a half. I'm not giving up on them, and they're not going to give up on each other."

Huff will stress to his team that their goals are still within reach headed into the South showdown with Co-Lin. Both teams are 0-0 in the division.

"These two games mean absolutely nothing about our goals of playing for a South championship and a state championship," he said. "We played two really good teams out of the North. They weren't our best performances. We'll look at it and say it starts next week."

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