MGCCC headed to top-15 showdown

PERKINSTON — No. 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast travels to No. 13 Jones on Thursday, heading into the house of last year's MACJC South Division champion.

Kickoff at Bobcat Stadium is at 7 p.m., and the Bulldogs (3-0) will play a Bobcats team that's been tested in the early going. 

"They're the defending champs, and they play that way," Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. "They've got a winning culture. They played two very tight games the last two weeks. I see a team with a lot of fight and a lot of confidence."

The game will be streamed at http://jcjc.tv and an audio feed of the MGCCC radio broadcast can be heard at https://livestream.com/MGCCCBulldogs/events/8377288.

Gulf Coast moved up six spots in the NJCAA poll this week after beating No. 18 Holmes 48-14 last week. Jones (2-1, 1-0 MACJC South) rallied from two touchdowns down to beat Hinds 28-25 helped by a pair of special teams scores. The Bobcats recovered a fumble punt snap in the end zone for a touchdown and got an 80-yard blocked field goal return.

Kalyn Grandberry, a freshman running back, leads Jones with almost exactly 100 yards per game and three touchdowns.

"I've probably seen him break more tackles in the first three games than I've seen out of any running back in this league," Wright said. "He's a very physical runner and very strong in his lower body."

He continues to stress striving for perfection from his team, worried about how his team can get better. One area that's been a particular strength has been the offensive line.

Gulf Coast is averaging 227.0 yards rushing and 231.3 yards passing in the first three games. Last week, the Bulldogs ran for 228 yards and passed for 255 yards on 18-of-26 completions. 

"Any time you go into a game and throw as efficiently as we did and also run the ball as efficiently as we did, that really goes back to one source," Wright said. "That's not one player being effective, that's the whole group being effective, and that starts on the offensive line."

Game #4

WHO: MGCCC (3-0, 0-0 MACJC South) at Jones (2-1, 1-0)

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 2, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Bobcat Stadium, Ellisville

ONLINE: Watch http://www.jcjc.tv/

LISTEN: SuperTalk Mississippi 103.1 FM or online at https://livestream.com/MGCCCBulldogs/events/8377288 

The Series

Series record: Jones College leads 45-43-6

First Meeting: 1929

Last Meeting: October 28, 2017 Jones 38, Gulf Coast 24

Notes: Jones College renamed its school earlier this month from Jones County Junior College … Jones has won the last two meetings and four of the last six … Gulf Coast had won eight straight before that, which was the longest streak in the series … Jones' longest win streak was seven (1959-65) … MGCCC has registered nine shutouts in series history, Jones 13 … There were three scoreless ties (1932, 1942, 1970) … Jones is one of only two MACJC teams Gulf Coast doesn't have a winning record against (Pearl River, 39-55-1

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.