PEARL RIVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SPORTS INFORMATION

Sept. 14, 2007

Perk stuns River 24-17

Wildcat offense sputters, Bulldog groundgame shines amidst muck in Perkinston

By: Mitch Deaver

PERKINSTON — Four-time defending MACJC football champ Pearl River lost its No. 1 national ranking here Thursday thanks to five turnovers and and a potent Mississippi Gulf Coast ground game amidst the soggy, waterlogged environs of A.L. May Stadium.

The Bulldogs’ handed the Wildcats a 24-17 defeat, marking only the eighth time PRCC head coach Tim Hatten has come out on the losing end in the 57 games he has coached since arriving in Poplarville in 2002.

But he offered no excuses. In fact, the sixth-year mentor partly placed the blame on himself.

“I did a poor job putting an offense on the field in this one,” Hatten said. “But you live and learn. Now we’ve got our backs against the wall and it’s going to be interesting to see how we respond to this.

“But there’s going to be changes made and we’re going to get better. I guarantee that.”

After starting quarterback Lance Cuevas of St. Stanislaus and back up Theo Wilson of Clearwater, Fla., couldn’t get the offense on track for three-plus quarters, Hatten called on true freshman Pat Oliver of East Marion on the Wildcats’ final three possessions of the game.

Oliver, the brother of Wildcat legend Jimmy Oliver (now at Jackson State) who quarterbacked PRCC to back-to-back state titles in 2004 and 2005 and an NJCAA championship in 2004, performed well, said Hatten, despite lackluster statistics.

“It was my mistake by not putting Pat in earlier than I did,” he said. “He immediately showed he was better composed and had a better field presence out there. He played the best of the three...bar none.”

Oliver finished the game completing only two of 11 throws for 23 yards and a three rushing yards on six carries, but his running figures included a six-yard sack and two bad snaps from center that resulted in a minus-13 yards.

“It wasn’t good,” Hatten continued. “We lost the special teams game and the turnover war...just about everything. And that’s what we preach about in practice. Don’t turn the ball over and you’ll always give our defense a chance to win it for us.

“That didn’t happen tonight.”

Linebacker Hendrick Leverette of Oak Grove picked off Genario McNealy on the Bulldogs’ first snap of the game and returned it five yards to the Bulldog 35. Six plays later, preseason All-American Brad Bingham of Moss Point booted a 42-yard field goal to put The River up 3-0 with 11:10 left in the opening period.

The final three minutes of the quarter saw three more turnovers — all pass picks. Cuevas was intercepted by Andre Watson at his own 33, while McNealy was picked off by Brandon Burns of Columbiana, Ala.. Three snaps later, Cuevas threw his second pick of the game at midfield with Perk’s Chris White doing the damage.

Bulldog running back Demond Washington, who finished the night with 139 yards on 35 carries, got the call five times for 18 yards during Gulf Coast’s ensuing eight-play drive that stalled at the 25, setting the stage for Sean Brauchle’s 42-yard field goal to tie it up just a minute-and-a-half into the second period.

Back up Wilson tossed the Wildcats’ third interception of the game four plays into PRCC’s ensuing possession, while Albert Williams coughed it up five plays into Gulf Coast’s subsequent series after a 10-yard gainer to the Pearl River 13.

On first down, a Wildcat clip moved things back to the five where Wilson zipped a quick screen to Roger Frazier of Lakeland, Fla., who was immediately steamrolled and fumbled into the end zone for a safety to give Gulf Coast the lead for good at 5-0.

Pearl River followed with a three-and-out on its next possession and Perk’s Jamel Gandy returned Phillip Sullivan’s 41-yard boot 21 yards to the Wildcat 16. Two plays later, Andre Crumbley muscled in from the 13 for the game’s first touchdown. Brauchle’s PAT made it 12-3 with 5:04 left before the intermission.

Frazier returned the ensuing kickoff 40 yards to the Bulldog 35, but a Wildcat clip moved things back to the PRCC 42 where Cuevas was intercepted by Chris White at the Perk 31. On the first snap, Washington fumbled and an alert Josh Wiley of Hattiesburg High picked up the bobble and raced 27 yards for a Wildcat score. Bingham’s extra point cut the hosts’ lead to 12-10 with 2:36 left for the final points of the first half.

Gulf Coast struck quickly in the second half, driving 54 yards in six plays from its own 46 to pad its lead. McNealy completed his only pass of the night to Deon Hodges on third down, good for 34 yards to the Wildcat 17; then Washington got his fourth carry of the series three plays later at the seven, but fumbled into the end zone only to see Hodges recover for the TD. Brauchle’s extra point made it 19-10 Perk with 11:43 left in the third.

The Wildcats answered with an 88-yard, third-and-10 Cuevas-to-Frazier catch and run from the PRCC 11 to the MGCCC one where Bubba Kirksey of Hattiesburg High scooted in for the score on first down. Bingham was true on his PAT and things were 19-17 Gulf Coast with 10:28 left in the period.

Brauchle kicked a 43-yard field goal after the Bulldogs marched 35 yards to the Wildcat 26. Washington’s 28-yard run on first down pushed the freshman from Tallassee, Ala., past the 100-yard mark. Perk led 22-17 with 6:13 left in the third.

Terrence Handy of Jackson Provine picked off McNealy at the Bulldog 40 on a second and 20 three plays into Gulf Coast’s ensuing possession, but Cuevas’ four-yard completion to Chris Reed of Hattiesburg High on a fourth and five at the 31 came up a yard short and the Bulldogs took over.

On the Wildcats’ second possession of the final period, Oliver arrived on the scene only to lose a minus-13 yards on bad snaps with an eight-yard keeper sandwiched in between. Facing a fourth-and 10 at his own 13, Sullivan was punting from his own end zone when a third bad snap saw the sophomore from Meridian pick up the miscue and scoot out of the end zone for a Gulf Coast safety for the game’s final points with 5:33 left.

Oliver went to the air on Pearl River final two possessions, connecting on a 10-yard to Frazier and a 13-yarder to Reed. He mustered 12 yards on a keeper and was sacked for six yards before he threw consecutive incompletions from the Bulldog 44 to dash the Wildcats’ comeback hopes.

Pearl River finished the game with nine first downs to Gulf Coast’s 12, while the Bulldogs generated 249 yards (215 rush, 34 pass) of total offense to the Wildcats’ lackluster 163 (150 pass, 13 rush).

Frazier led all receivers with 98 yards on five catches, while Cuevas was 12 of 28 (three interceptions) passing for 127 yards. Wilson connected one of four throws for zero yards.

The Wildcats were penalized nine time for 75 yards, while the Bulldogs drew 14 flags for 100.

Sullivan averaged a career-high 43.4 yards on five punts, while Wesley Ladner puntd seven times for a 35.5-yard average.

It’s more division play next Thursday when Pearl River hosts defending South Division champion Copiah-Lincoln in Poplarville (7 p.m. kickoff), while Gulf Coast travels to division rival Hinds in Raymond (7 p.m. kickoff).

Elsewhere around the MACJC

In other South Division openers Thursday, defending division champ Copiah-Lincoln (1-2, 1-0) belted arch-rival Southwest Mississippi (1-2, 0-1) 20-0 in Wesson and undefeated Jones County (3-0, 1-0) scored in the final seconds to hand East Central (2-1, 0-1) a 32-29 loss in Decatur. In the North Division, it took defending division champ Northwest Mississippi (2-1, 1-0) three overtime periods to nail winless Holmes (0-3, 0-1) 19-13 in Goodman and Mississippi Delta (1-2, 1-0) picked up its first win with a 24-20 squeaker over winless East Mississippi (0-3, 0-1) in Moorhead. In non-division action, unbeaten Hinds (3-0) trimmed winless Northeast Mississippi (0-3) 14-13 in Booneville.

n Pearl River Community College offers equal education and employment opportunities. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, vet-eran status, or disability. For inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies or to request accommodations, special assistance, or alternate format publication, please con-tact Tonia Moody, ADA/Civil Rights Coordinator, at P.O. Box 5118, Poplarville, MS 39470 or 601-403-1060.