SOUTH CHAMPS x FIVE

ELLISVILLE — Make it five straight MACCC South titles for Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The No. 6 Bulldogs extended their school record for consecutive division champions by pitching a second-straight shutout to upend No. 10 Jones 23-0 at Sim Cooley Field. 

"Everybody who has touched these players every day has put a lot of effort into these last nine weeks," Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. "It was a big-time payoff tonight. It takes a commitment and consistency to get to this point. Sometimes it doesn't pay off, but time it did."

Gulf Coast (8-1, 5-1 South) finishes the regular season in a three-way tie for the South championship with Jones and No. 5 Copiah-Lincoln. By way of tiebreakers, Co-Lin earned the No. 1 seed, and Gulf Coast will be the No. 2.

The Bulldogs, who have won at least a share of the South title for five straight years, will travel to Scooba on Nov. 11 to play East Mississippi in the MACCC semifinal. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m. 

The Wolves will host North No. 2 Northwest Mississippi in the other semifinal. The Rangers edged Northeast 28-27 in overtime.

Jones finishes its season 6-3, 5-1. Gulf Coast has won five straight in the series and now leads the all-time record 48-46-6.

The Regulators, which shut out Hinds 41-0 the last time out, held the Bobcats to just 16 rushing yards and 143 total yards. The Bulldogs racked up six quarterback sacks and 11 tackles for loss.

"Eight straight quarters with no points," Wright said. "It's not like we're playing poor teams. We're playing good teams with good coaches. Coach (Brett) Shufelt, Coach (Clarence) McDougal, Coach (Rod) Smith put together a gameplan this week. Our kids went out and executed it."

Montrell Chapman (Fr., Batesville/South Panola) led Gulf Coast with eight tackles, including two for losses. He also had a key fumble recovery on a fumbled punt return that led to a 56-yard drive, culminating in Jamari Thompson (So., Pearl/Pearl) converting a third-and-14 with a 34-yard catch and run for a 20-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Al Sandifer (Fr., Greenwood/Greenville Christian) announced his return to the field with authority. After missing the last two games, the defensive lineman had 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

"I loved that I got back on the field for the big game," he said. "I took a little rest to get healthy. Getting back on the field was the best thing in the world, like giving candy to a baby."

Thompson had the first score when he busted a 49-yard touchdown run through the Bobcat defense. It put Gulf Coast up just 77 seconds into the game and proved to be all the points the Bulldogs would need.

Gabriel Showalter (So., St. Martin/St. Martin) had three field goals.

The Bulldogs, who lead the country in rushing, piled up 243 yards on the ground. Trey Hall (Fr., Vicksburg/Warren Central) had an even 100 yards on 17 carries, and Thompson finished with 75 on 15. The Bulldogs averaged 5.4 yards per rush.

Eli Anderson (So., Philadelphia/Neshoba Central) was 10-of-20 for 127 yards and a touchdown on a conservative night of playcalling by Wright.

"Part of that is just adjusting to the game," he said. "Our defense was playing so well we didn't want to put the ball in the air. They've got some really good players on defense."

Wright will give his players a couple days off. He said he wants to give them the chance to lay in bed and watch some Saturday college football. Then, the playoff grind begins.

Gulf Coast beat East Mississippi 42-17 in the regular season, but there's very little chance it will be a straight repeat performance. 

"The game's always different the second time," Wright said. "There's a different flow, and whatever happens early dictates how you play the game late. We'll have to get our team ready. We're familiar with them, and they're familiar with us."

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