No. 9 Bulldogs play at home again Thursday

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast moved up a spot in the NJCAA poll after last week's season-opening win against East Mississippi, but there's still a lot to improve on for the No. 9 Bulldogs.

Gulf Coast plays a second home game to start the season Thursday, entertaining Mississippi Delta (0-1). Kickoff at A.L. May Memorial Stadium will be at 7 p.m.

"We made plenty of mistakes, plenty of little stuff," Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. "Sometimes, you're lucky to get away with them, to be honest. We've got to go back and fix it so other teams that see those mistakes on film can't exploit them. We have to look at our crystal ball and predict how teams are going to see those mistakes and how they're going to exploit us and try to prevent that."

Tickets can be bought at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets. The game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch, or the radio broadcast is on SuperTalk 103.1 FM.

One thing the Bulldogs coaching staff hopes to do is get more guys more snaps on George Sekul Field. 

"We've got to try to accelerate our learning curve for the younger players," Wright said. "We did not play enough people Thursday night. We played our starters almost all the reps, and we weren't able to go down to the depth chart like we like to do. We've got to accelerate that process. We've got to get the younger guys on the field. We've got to let them get out there and make mistakes and learn from it, get it coached up on tape so that they won't make those again."

The Trojans lost their home opener to Jones, falling 33-0.

"They have a really, really big strong defensive front," Wright said. "They gave up almost no rushing yards. They're just big and strong, hard to move, and they force you to do you know some things on the edge and down the field because there's no easy yards on that defense."

The Bulldogs piled up 547 yards of total offense in the 41-21 win over East Mississippi. They averaged 7.7 yards per play, including better than 10 in the air. After a slow start on the ground, they broke the century mark.

Gulf Coast was able to move the sticks, converting 58 percent of third downs and two-of-four fourth downs.

That doesn't happen without the big guys up front, and one of those who stood out was Russell Brooks. The redshirt freshman from Meridian has made big strides this year. 

"He had a great game," Wright said. "He was injured last year, was not on the roster. He's played a lot this year. He's a big, strong, hardworking, young man, and very deserving. He played really, really well. I couldn't be more proud of Russ."

Game #2

WHO: No. 9 Gulf Coast (1-0) vs. Mississippi Delta (0-1)

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 4, 7 p.m.

WHERE: A.L. May Memorial Stadium, Perkinston

WATCH: https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch

TICKETS: http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets

Series History

Series Record: Gulf Coast leads 27-16-0

First Meeting: 1929

Last Meeting: Sept. 5, 2024, Gulf Coast 43, Delta 7

Notes: Gulf Coast has won the last seven meetings between the teams … Gulf Coast has 11 shutouts in its 27 victories, the last of which came in 2018 … Delta has two shutouts in its 16 wins, the last of which came in 2004 … Gulf Coast's current win streak, which started in 2010, is the longest in the series … Delta's longest win streak is six (1993-1998), which started a stretch of nine wins in 10 games … Gulf Coast's largest win in the series is 52 points, which happened twice, 52-0 wins in 2010 and 2018 … Delta's largest win in the series is 42 points, a 49-7 win in 1993 … Gulf Coast has outscored Delta 1,056-650 (24.6-15.1 ppg), including 321-50 (45.9-7.1 ppg) in the current six-game winning streak … The first meeting between the schools happened on Nov. 26, 1929, when Harrison-Stone Agricultural Junior College defeated Sunflower Junior College 7-0.

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