PEARL RIVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SPORTS INFORMATION

Oct. 19, 2007

Bears down Wildcats to keep MACJC playoff hopes alive

Four-time defending state champ PRCC falls victim to seven turnovers, including six interceptions

By: Mitch Deaver

SUMMIT — Four-time defending state football champ Pearl River fell victim to seven turnovers here Thursday to give Southwest Mississippi a 24-17 MACJC South Division victory, marking the first time the Bears have defeated the Wildcats since the 1999 season.

With the victory, SMCC kept its post-season playoffs hopes alive and evened its overall mark to 4-4 and improved to 3-2 in division play. The Wildcats, on the other hand, dropped to 5-3 and 2-3.

Should fifth-ranked and unbeaten Jones County defeat third-ranked and unbeaten Mississippi Gulf Coast (both are 7-0 and 4-0) Saturday in Ellisville, a Southwest victory over MGCCC in the two team’s regular season finale next Thursday in Perkinston would seal a playoff spot for the Bears.

The Wildcat defeat marked the first time head coach Tim Hatten has lost to the Bears and suffered back-to-back losses since he arrived on the PRCC campus in 2002. Hatten’s career mark at The River is now 52-10.

“What can you say, they made the big plays when they needed to,” he said. “We didn’t.”

Preseason All-American placekicker Brad Bingham of Moss Point kicked a 51-yard field goal — his second 51-yarder of the season and the second-best distance in school history — with 1:28 left in the third quarter to give the Wildcats their only lead of the night, but the Wildcats’ seventh turnover of the game some 10 minutes later iced the victory for SMCC.

Quarterback Lance Cuevas of St. Stanislaus was intercepted by Myrio Cotton at the Bears’ 10 on a second-and-nine and the cornerback returned his pick the distance for the game-winning score with 4:53 left in the game. Walter Mason hit E.J. Legree for the two-point conversion to end the game’s scoring.

Southwest’s Roteddrick Cotton got things going from the outset when he returned the game’s opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. Les Mulkey’s extra point was good and the Bears led 7-0 with only 15 seconds gone in the first quarter.

Four series later, Bear punter Blake Dempster shanked a 13-yarder from his own nine and put PRCC in business at the Southwest 24 where starting QB Theo Wilson of Clearwater, Fla., hit Jerry Duncan of Petal with a 21-yard touchdown pass on a third and seven to tie it up. Bingham’s PAT was good and things were 7-7 with 7:06 left in the period.

On the Wildcats’ second possession of the second period, Wilson fumbled for a minus-three at his own 30 and Brandon Brumfield recovered for the Bears. Seven plays later, Mulkey booted a 40-yard field goal to put Southwest up 10-7 with 6:31 left in the half.

Three snaps into PRCC’s ensuing possession, SMCC linebacker Antoine Wilkinson returned his pick off Wilson 60 yards to the end zone to pad the hosts’ lead to 16-7. Mulkey’s PAT was no good.

The Wildcats rose to the occasion in the waning seconds before the intermission when defensive lineman Alex Ford of Presbyterian Christian returned Walter Mason’s fumble 10 yards for a score. Bingham’s extra point cut the Bears’ lead to 16-14 with 17 seconds left.

Bingham’s field goal at the end of the third put the River up by one, then Wildcat linebacker Brent Acker of Picayune High intercepted Mason at the 30 midway in the final period and returned his pick to the 20, setting up Myrio Cotton’s game-winning interception return five snaps into PRCC’s ensuing possession.

“We’ve got Hinds next week to end the season and hopefully we can go out on a winning note,” Hatten said. “This has been one crazy year.”

Pearl River won the stat sheet battle with 13 first downs to Southwest’s eight, while the Wildcats generated 214 yards of total offense (89 pass, 125 rush) to the Bears’ 135 (136 pass, minus-1 rush).

PRCC redshirt freshman Georgio Hall of Prentiss paced all rushers in the contest with 85 yards on 13 carries, while Mason connected on 14 of 32 throws (one interception).

Wilson finished the game completing seven of 21 passes (three interceptions) for 60 yards and a touchdown, while Cuevas was six of 22 (three interceptions) for 29 yards.

Duncan led Wildcat receivers with three catches for 33 yards and a TD, while Robert Jordan paced the Bears with seven for 77.

Pearl River’s Phillip Sullivan of Meridian, the MACJC’s leading punter, averaged 47.1 yards on eight kicks, while Dempster averaged 30.6 on 10 boots.

PRCC was penalized 14 times for an even 100 yards, while SMCC drew 13 flags for 93.

Elsewhere around the MACJC

The MACJC’s only other Thursday game saw Hinds (5-2, 2-3) defeat East Central (2-6, 0-6) 20-17 for a Homecoming victory in Raymond. Saturday in the MACJC North Division, two Homecoming outings include Coahoma hosting Northeast Mississippi in Clarksdale and Holmes hosting Mississippi Delta in Goodman, while Northwest Mississippi hosts Itawamba in Senatobia. Other than the Jones- Mississippi Gulf Coast battle Saturday, Copiah-Lincoln hosts East Mississippi for its Homecoming for the only inter-divisional game of the week.