No. 1 MGCCC will play for national title

PERKINSTON — No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast has officially been extended and accepted an invitation to play in the 2019 NJCAA Football Championship.

The final regular-season rankings came out Monday afternoon with the Bulldogs still on top, and they'll play another undefeated team, No. 2 Lackawanna, on Dec. 5 in Pittsburg, Kan.

"It's a great honor to be in that game, to be considered one of the top two teams in the country in 2019," Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. "It's something the whole community can be proud of. I think it's a great honor for our players who have worked so hard and sacrificed so much to get to this point."

The game will be played at Carnie Smith Stadium on the Pittsburg State campus for the second year. It will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network, with kickoff time set for 5 p.m. CT.

Gulf Coast (11-0) finished its sweep of the MACJC with a 22-19 victory at then-No. 4 Northwest on Saturday. It's the school's 16th state championship, and the Bulldogs will be trying to add a fifth national title in Kansas. Gulf Coast has championships in 1948, 1971, 1984 and 2007.

Wright has a chance to become just the second coach to win NJCAA championships at two different schools, having won at Northwest in 2015. Dick Foster won as coach of Fort Scott in 1970 and Coffeyville in 1983.

The Bulldogs have the nation's seventh-ranked offense and second-ranked defense, which allows the fourth-fewest points (12.3) in the NJCAA. Gulf Coast has won 15 consecutive games, second-longest in the country.

Lackawanna (10-0) gives up just 11.2 points per game, tied for best in the country. The Falcons are ranked sixth in total defense and 29th in total offense. They have a 22-game winning streak.

"I don't know much about Lackawanna, but I know they are undefeated," Wright said. "Anytime you do that, your team is made of the right stuff. You've got good leadership, good players and good character, high integrity. Anytime you play for a championship, just like Saturday proved, it's going to be a tough game."

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