GULF COAST BEATS JONES, WINS SOUTH

PERKINSTON — If you want to know what Mississippi Gulf Coast's 2022 football season has been like, just watch the microcosm that was a fantastic 38-24 win over No. 4 Jones to clinch the fourth straight MACCC South title and the No. 1 seed.

The Bulldogs had some struggles early Thursday night at A.L. May Memorial Stadium, but boy did they come on strong after halftime. Gulf Coast exploded for 21 points in the third quarter to erase a touchdown deficit at halftime. 

"These guys are mentally tough," Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. "They've had their oil checked, and I'm so proud they've passed the test."

Gulf Coast (6-3, 5-1 MACCC South) handed the Bobcats (8-1, 5-1) their first loss of the season and earned the right to host No. 14 East Mississippi (6-3, 4-2 North) in an MACCC semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 5. The Bulldogs will host any conference playoff game they play in.

The other semifinal will see No. 3 Northwest (9-0, 6-0 North) host Jones.

It's the first time in school history the team has won four straight division titles. That's the case, partly, because the Bulldogs have beaten Jones in all four seasons. Gulf Coast now leads the all-time series 47-46-6. 

It certainly wasn't easy. The teams were in a shootout in the first 30 minutes. The teams exchanged touchdowns on the first five possessions before Gulf Coast's Gabe Showalter (Fr., St. Martin/St. Martin) kicked a field goal to cut the deficit to 21-17. 

Jones answered with a 25-yard field of its own with 65 seconds left in the half to make it a touchdown difference. Gulf Coast appeared to be in position to tie the game up after a stellar two-minute drive, but Pat McQuaide (Fr., Solon Ohio/Solon) made one of his few mistakes of the night by throwing an interception in the end zone.

Gulf Coast got to regroup at halftime, though, and the game drastically changed after the break. The Bulldogs got the ball to start the half and marched 66 yards on 10 plays. Cam Thomas (So., Picayune/Picayune) took care of the final 21 yards to tie it at 24 less than four minutes in.

The Regulators got their first stop of the night, and Gulf Coast needed just five plays to go 69 yards because Ramone Bradley (Fr., Fairhope Ala./Fairhope) caught a 53-yard bomb for the first lead of the night.

A Jones three-and-out fed a 45-yard drive that Bradley closed out again with a 9-yard score for the final margin.

Gulf Coast went into clock-killer mode after forcing another punt, bleeding 6:37 off the clock before punting. Jervin Smith (So., Columbus/Biloxi) then recovered a Jones fumble, and 4:24 later the game was over.

After allowing 270 yards in the first half, the Regulators allowed just 55 after halftime. They held Robert Henry, the nation's leading rusher, to 34 yards on 23 carries. He had 17 rushing touchdowns, again the most in the NJCAA, but didn't reach paydirt at Perk.

"We went into halftime and we had a little brotherhood speech, same as we did at Co-Lin," said defensive end Torren Coppage-El (Fr., Stone Mountain Ga./Parkview). "We just clicked. We made some adjustments and just played hard. We brought a lot of juice."

Thomas was the star running back on the field. He piled up 191 rushing yards, one short of his career-best, and did so on 33 carries. The Bulldogs ran for 206 yards.

Keymari Odum (So., Haines City Fla./Ridge) had eight catches for 116 yards, including a 7-yard reception for a second-quarter score. Bradley had five catches for an even 100 yards and the two scores. Cyrus Hartfield (So., Hattiesburg/Hattiesburg) had four catches for 40 yards.

McQuaide, the nation's leading passer, completed 20-of-30 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a 3-yard first-quarter score.

The Bulldogs have come a long way from a 24-14 loss at Pearl River on Sept. 29. In the span of a month, Gulf Coast ripped off four straight wins to surge to the title.

"I feel like that moment, we grew together," said tight end KD Wells (So., Brookhaven/Brookhaven). "We're very talented, but we're young. It took us a while to put everything together."

Gulf Coast and East Mississippi have met once this year, with the Lions erasing a 24-point third-quarter deficit before winning a 48-45 shootout.

"They've got a very dangerous passing game," Wright said. "We saw it firsthand with a bunch of dynamic receivers and playmakers on offense. We've got a huge challenge to limit what they're able to do on offense. That was what we did tonight. The second time you play, it's almost never the same story. That doesn't mean we're going to win, but the game's probably going to play out a lot differently, I would guess."

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