Second half dooms No. 9 MGCCC

Photo by Kerry Bass/MGCCC

PERKINSTON — No. 9 Mississippi Gulf Coast was in striking distance of No. 12 Northwest Mississippi at halftime but some key breakdowns turned the second half into a runaway.

The Rangers (5-2) scored three unanswered touchdowns after the break to beat the Bulldogs (5-2) 38-14 at A.L. May Memorial Stadium.

"I thought very untimely mistakes, mainly penalties at the wrong moment," Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. "The one that sticks out is the roughing the kicker call in the third quarter. We had some momentum going into halftime, and we had a quick stop and rough the kicker. They went on and scored. That was the turning point."

Gulf Coast is now in a tie with Hinds for second in the MACCC South at 3-1. The teams are a game behind No. 1 Jones, with the Bulldogs headed to Ellisville next week. Kickoff against the Bobcats is set for 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs trailed 17-14 at halftime. Austin Davidson (So., Meridian/West Lauderdale), who got his first start of the season at quarterback, got a 1-yard scoring run in the first quarter. He threw a 36-yard pass down the sideline to Rico Dorsey (Fr., Hattiesburg/Presbyterian Christian) in the second to make it a three-point game at the break.

"We looked a little different tonight," Wright said. "We were more quarterback-based, and he was forced to make some plays with his feet. I thought we did some good things on offense, though. I'm not too down on that side of the ball."

Davidson completed 19-of-31 passes for 183 yards. Jalen Bracey (So., Jackson/Murrah) caught five passes for 56 yards. Keymari Odum (Fr., Haines City Fla./Ridge) also had five catches, and he slid into the running back role because of injuries to lead the team with 58 yards on 11 carries. 

Gulf Coast allowed one first down on the opening drive of the second half before forcing the Rangers to punt. The Bulldogs roughed the kicker, and NWCC marched the rest of the way for a 24-14 lead.

After Gulf Coast went three-and-out, Northwest returned the punt 47 yards for a touchdown. The Rangers added a fourth-quarter score for the final margin.

"Give them credit," Wright said. "They created mistakes and we made them. It costs us the game."

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