Bulldogs blow out ICC

PHOTO BY LEE ADAMS/LETSGOICC.COM

FULTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast bounced back from one long disappointing road trip in the season opener to make another journey a happy one Thursday night, beating up on Itawamba 37-13 at Eaton Field.

The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on four of their first five possessions to put away the Indians and improve to 1-1. Gulf Coast sacked the Itawamba quarterback seven times, and its quarterbacks completed 30-of-38 passes for 298 yards.

"It feels great," Drake Thornton (So., Gautier/Gautier) said. "We worked really hard this week and put in a lot of time watching film. It was a great team win, guys staying together."

Gulf Coast leads the series 36-16-1 and has won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the schools.

Pat McQuaide (Fr., Solon, Ohio/Solon) completed 25-of-30 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns, and a bevy of Bulldog running backs piled up 152 yards rushing. Xavier Evans (So., Laurel/Laurel) led the team with 47 yards and had two touchdowns.

"It's tough to run this ball in the league," Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. "To break 100 and to get all our guys in there is great."

Nine different Gulf Coast receivers had receptions, with Keymari Odum (So., Haines City, Fla./Ridge) leading the way with 77 yards on a team-high eight catches.

Evans opened the scoring after the Regulators forced a three-and-out on the opening ICC possession. The Bulldogs marched 67 yards and he ran one in from 3 yards on the 12^th play.

Itawamba tied it after a Gulf Coast turnover, but the Bulldogs scored on their next three possessions. McQuaide threw a 5-yard pass to Ramone Bradley (Fr., Fairhope, Ala./Fairhope), and Evans ran another in from 10 yards.

Jonathan Harris (So., Hattiesburg/Petal), who had six catches for 56 yards, scored on a 3-yard pass to make it 28-7 at the break.

Gabe Showalter (Fr., St. Martin/St. Martin) connected on a 31-yard field goal in the third quarter, and Odum's fourth-quarter touchdown closed out the scoring.

"Getting our guys in space, with the guys we have on offense, they're really explosive," McQuaid said. "They're really hard to bring down, and the offense did a great job again this week giving me time to throw."

He led the nation in passing yards per game after the first week, and only raised his average in Fulton. Gulf Coast converted six of its first seven third downs, including a third-and-21 converted when McQuaide bought time and found Harris for 22 yards. They finished 8-of-13 on third down, and 1-for-1 on fourth.

Gulf Coast outgained Itawamba 455 yards to 220, and ICC converted just 4-of-12 third downs.

Gulf Coast plays for the first time at home in 2022 next week when Southwest Mississippi visits Perkinston. Kickoff at history A.L. May Memorial Stadium is at 7 p.m.

For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.