No. 5 Bulldogs prepare for fired-up Wildcats

PERKINSTON — No. 5 Mississippi Gulf Coast finally gets to play a home game after long road trips the first two weeks of the season.

That's not going to make Thursday night that much easier, though, because archrival Pearl River makes the shortest road trip in the MACCC.

"Everybody knows Gulf Coast and Pearl River is a rivalry game," Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. "There's a lot of family and friends who cross over because of the close proximity of the schools. You add to that it's a big division game, for standings reasons and other reasons, it's a big game."

Kickoff at historic A.L. May Memorial Stadium is set for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/stream, and tickets are available at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets. Individual game chairback tickets for this game are available at that site, as well.

Fans are asked to wear white for the annual White Out game. They are also encouraged to join the crowd under the home bleachers with 30 minutes left before kickoffs to cheer on the Bulldogs as they complete warmups.

It'll be a fired-up bunch of Wildcats, which is already how they play.

"I see great ball get-off on both sides," Wright said. "I see great energy and great enthusiasm. They play with a lot of emotion. Anytime you play a team like that, it's going to be a challenge for the entire 60 minutes."

Pearl River (1-1) beat Coahoma 24-14 last week in Poplarville. The defense had two interceptions, a fumble and blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown. They also have dynamic quarterback Bryce Wallace. The brother of offensive coordinator Bo Wallace, of East Mississippi and Ole Miss fame, completing nearly 60 percent of his passes in addition to leading PRCC with 110 rushing yards on 30 carries.

"Bryce Wallace runs the ball very effectively," Wright said. "He's a dual-threat quarterback. He really lasers some balls into tight coverage, and he made a couple of big plays in the passing game last week."

One of the Gulf Coast players who will be tasked with slowing down the Pearl River attack is Swiss Army knife Robert McDaniel. The sophomore defensive back from Terry will show up against the run game and in pass defense.

He has 16 tackles in two games with three tackles for loss and a sack. He also forced a fumble against Northeast Mississippi, part of a 12-tackle effort against the Tigers.

"Robert McDaniel is a stud," Gulf Coast defensive coordinator Brett Shufelt said. "That guy is like, 'Wow,' to me. I'm so happy with him. He's really so versatile, kinda like Mike (Smith)."

A victory against Pearl River would be Jack Wright's 27^th at Gulf Coast and move him into third place in school history. He's already the top coach by winning percentage, and he'll be trying to stay perfect against the Wildcats in his fourth chance.

Game #3

WHO: MGCCC (2-0) vs. Pearl River (1-1)

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m.

WHERE: A.L. May Memorial Stadium, Perkinston

WATCH: http://mgcccbulldogs.com/stream

LISTEN: SuperTalk 103.1 FM

The Series

Series record: Pearl River leads 55-42-1

First Meeting: 1926

Last Meeting: Oct. 1, 2020, MGCCC 42, Pearl River Community College 25

Notes: Gulf Coast has won nine of the last 10 meetings, dating back to 2011 and 13 of the last 15 back to 2007 … Gulf Coast is averaging 27.2 points in the last 10 games, Pearl River 12.0 … Gulf Coast has seven shutouts in its 41 victories, the last of which came in 2014 … Pearl River has 19 shutouts, the last of which came in 2003 … Gulf Coast won six straight between 2011 and 2016 … Pearl River's longest win streak is 17 between 1953 and 1965 … The biggest Gulf Coast win in series history was a 52-7 win in 2008, while the biggest Pearl River win came in 1961 (60-6) … This is one of only two MACCC opponents Gulf Coast has a losing record against (Jones, 45-46-6) … Jack Wright moved into a four-way tie for third-most victories in Gulf Coast history (list below) … Wright (3-0) is one of two coaches in Gulf Coast history with perfect records against Pearl River (Louis D. Megehee, 2-0).

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