No. 8 Bulldogs march into playoffs

PERKINSTON – No. 8 Mississippi Gulf Coast opens MACJC playoff action Saturday with a familiar opponent.

Kickoff has been changed to noon on Saturday to beat threatening weather.

In fact, Itawamba couldn't be any more familiar having just visited Perkinston last weekend in a 38-7 Gulf Coast victory at Homecoming. That 31-point margin of victory figures to feature prominently in the Indians' preparations, and the Bulldog coaches will stress how the score was deceiving last week.

"We're going to play as physical as we did last week and bring even more," Gulf Coast coach Chad Huff said. "We have to understand they need to be ready for Itawamba's best game. They'll come back and want some of us."

The Bulldogs (7-2) outgained ICC (6-3) just 415 to 397, with the game tilting to Gulf Coast's favor thanks to winning the turnover battle.

Included in that was a pick-six by Bulldogs cornerback Octaves Johnson that pushed the halftime bulge to 21-0.

"I expect them to come out and play a better game," the freshman from Clinch County High School in Georgia said. "We've just got to have another great week of practice and come out and execute the game plan again."

The Bulldogs were led on the ground by T'Rod Daniels' 68 yards rushing. Walter Williams added another 60 as the team piled up 215 yards.

Quarterback A.J. Erdely completed 14 of 21 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns. He played his sixth interception-free game of the season, having thrown 11 touchdowns to just three picks.

"It's never easy to beat the same team twice," Erdely said after last week's game. "We're going to have to watch this tape, get better and try to do it again."

Itawamba quarterback Kwadra Griggs complete 29 of 45 passes for 233 yards, but Indians receivers dropped several passes.

Having lined up against Itawamba just a week ago gave the Bulldogs an opportunity to measure what was under their jerseys.

Huff has been warning his team that they'll see even more heart and intensity this time around.

"You know how hard they'll come out," Gulf Coast center Randan Knight said after the game. "You know whether they are a soft team or not. We saw their physicality tonight. That's the biggest thing. You don't know how their heart is by looking at the film. We'll know that next week."

GAME #10

No. 8 MGCCC (7-2, 5-1 MACJC South) vs. Itawamba (6-3, 4-2 MACJC North)

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 31, noon.

WHERE: A.L. May Memorial Stadium, Perkinston

ONLINE: Watch at mgcccbulldogs.com/BulldogLIVE

THE SERIES 

·     Gulf Coast 33-15-1

·     First Meeting: 1952

·     Last Meeting (Last week):  MGCCC 38, ICC 7

·     MGCCC has won last eight meetings dating to 2001

For more information on MGCCC athletics' 10 intercollegiate athletic, follow @MGCCCAthletics on Twitter and BulldogLIVE on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.