No. 9 Bulldogs claim emphatic road win

CLARKSDALE — No. 9 Mississippi Gulf Coast bounced back in a big way Thursday night, taking a lightning-quick 56-3 win over Coahoma.

Gulf Coast piled up 564 total yards, and the Regulators held the Tigers to 128 in a non-division matchup. It came one week after a disappointing loss at home to Copiah-Lincoln.

"We've got a good group of guys," Gulf Coast coach Jack Wrigth said. "Just go watch the last three quarters of the game last week and see how we fought back. We were locked in mentally, and we didn't poke our lips out, so I know what we're going to get with this group. We're going to get great effort, and we got that tonight."

Gulf Coast improved to 7-1 and has one more regular-season game left. It's a trip to Hinds for a game with major South Division implications. The Bulldogs need a win to extend the school-record streak of division titles to seven. They would tie Copiah-Lincoln, which beat East Central on Thursday, and get the second seed for the postseason.

The game at Coahoma took only a little over two hours, and Gulf Coast's quick-strike offense needed only 18 minutes, 12 seconds of possession to pile up its points.

Landon Varnes (So., Brandon/Brandon) completed 21-of-26 passes for 364 yards and three touchdowns. Kainen Rush (Fr., Gautier/Gautier) had three catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, and Tyler Henderson (So., Vicksburg/Vicksburg) scored on a 52-yard pass play. Mason Beverly (Fr., Hattiesburg/Purvis) also had a receiving touchdown, with 10 different Bulldogs catching passes. Connor Tice (Fr., Wiggins/Stone) took over at quarterback down the stretch and completed all three passes for 49 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown pass.

Elijah Jones-Crosby (Fr., Laurel/West Jones) scored twice, and Kevin Rogers (Fr., D'Iberville/D'Iberville) led Gulf Coast with 53 rushing yards with a touchdown. Glen Singleton (Fr., Flora/Madison Central) also had a rushing touchdown.

Connor White (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) had an interception to set up a short touchdown drive, and five different linemen had sacks, including Myles Saulsberry (So., Memphis, Tenn./Lausanne Collegiate), who was credited with a 34-yard sack.

The Regulators held the Tigers (0-8) to 2.7 yards per play

"Playing defense in college football now is hard to do," Wright said. "You could have a lot of talent and be in the right scheme, and an offensive player get a little bit of space and can make you look silly."

Gulf Coast's bounce-back win was an important step in building confidence for a huge regular-season finale. A loss at Hinds next week would end the Bulldogs' season.

"We're just going to prepare as hard as we can," Wright said. "It seems to me like every game is must-win. I know tonight wasn't a division game, but you feel like you've got to win them to get momentum going. Every game is big. We're going to approach it just like we do every week."

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