Gulf Coast needs home win against Hinds

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast entertains Hinds in a critical MACJC South Division matchup Thursday.

Two teams tied with a 1-1 division record and identical 1-3 records overall will kickoff at 7 p.m. at newly renovated A.L. May Memorial Stadium.

"They're a good football team in the same situation we've gotten ourselves into," said Gulf Coast coach Chad Huff.

The Bulldogs and Eagles are tied for second in the division, and the loser will have a difficult time getting back into the state playoff picture.

There were a lot of things to digest after Mississippi Gulf Coast fell to 1-3 with a 42-28 loss at East Central last week.

One critical stat the Bulldogs need to address is third-down conversions. The defense allowed 11 first downs on 17 attempts, with another fourth-down conversion on two attempts.

"They're not getting off the field on some critical third downs, some third-and-longs particularly," Huff said. "Sometimes, the kids try to do too much instead of just doing their job. We're not asking them to do the job for all 11 guys."

A critical example came late in the first half. East Central faced a third-and-long in the final two minutes and appeared to be happy to run out the clock.

Instead, the quarterback scrambled for a first down, and two big plays later the Warriors were in the end zone.

The Bulldogs offense converted just 3 of 11 third downs against East Central. Their average yardage to gain was about eight yards, which means the root cause was earlier in the series.

"It's the consistency offensively," Huff said. "We've talked about it over and over and over. Our job is to get four or five yards on first down. It's common sense that that makes your job easier on second and third down."

Thursday night figures to be an important one for the Gulf Coast season, one where the team passes the halfway mark of the regular season. Huff said the focus and discipline needed to right the ship starts behind his own whistle.

"Right now, this football team is at a fork in the road," Huff said. "Our guys have responded to what we're trying to teach them to do. We've got to make plays on third down. It's not about the X's and O's. It's about the guys executing. If you're not executing and lacking focus, it doesn't matter what you call."

GAME #5

Who: Hinds (1-3, 1-1 MACJC South) at MGCCC (1-3, 1-1)

When: Thursday, Sept. 29, 7 p.m.

Where: A.L. May Memorial Stadium, Perkinston

Online: Watch at http://livestream.com/BulldogLIVE/events/6410405

Listen: SuperTalk Mississippi 103.1 FM

THE SERIES 

Overall: Gulf Coast leads 46-32-1

First Meeting: 1926

Last Meeting (Sept. 17, 2015): MGCCC 38, Hinds 27

Streak: MGCCC has won the last 11 meetings

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