#2 East Mississippi stops #5 MGCCC 42-21

SCOOBA---A 21-point flurry midway through the second quarter gave East Mississippi the lead en route to a 42-21, MACJC Playoff win over Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

   The loss ends the season for the #5 Bulldogs (8-2), who made their eighth straight trip to the postseason.

  Meanwhile the Lions travel to Co-Lin to battle the Wolves for the MACJC Championship Nov. 8.

  "I'm proud of our team's effort today," said first year head coach Chad Huff. "We missed some opportunities early and couldn't respond when we fell behind. Despite the loss, I can't say enough about how hard these guys played."

   Gulf Coast opened up a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter on the #2 Lions, but the home team erupted for three touchdowns in a four-minute span to take a 21-14 lead at halftime.

   The Bulldogs took the second half kickoff and drove deep into East Miss. territory, but couldn't convert on a fourth and goal from the 6. It was one of four trips inside the red zone that the Bulldogs couldn't turn into points.

  East Miss. (10-0) got two more scores in the second half, one on Allen Sentimore 36-yard interception return and the other on an 11-yard TD run by Preston Baker.

  Gulf Coast's second half points came on a 10-yard TD run by quarterback Jason Smith that briefly cut the lead to 14 with 9:43 to go in the fourth quarter.

  It's the fifth time in their last six meetings that East Miss. has defeated Gulf Coast, with all five wins coming in Scooba.