The Mississippi Junior College playoffs were finalized with the completion of the regular season over the weekend.
Gulf Coast Community College, the South top seed, will play host to East Mississippi, the No. 2 seed from the North Division, Saturday at 7 p.m. in Perkinston. The Bulldogs finished the regular season at 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the South, while East Mississippi went 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the North.
The other half of the bracket has Northwest Mississippi Community College, the North’s No. 1 seed, taking on South No. 2 Jones Community College at 2 p.m. Saturday. Northwest went 7-2 overall and 4-2 in division play, while Jones finished 7-2 and 5-1 in the South.
n MDCC loses finale: Mississippi Delta Community College was looking to close out the 2019 season on a high note with two consecutive victories to end the campaign, but came up just short, dropping a 24-19 decision at the hands of Pearl River Community College in Poplarville last Thursday.
MDCC and Pearl River both finished 3-6 overall.
Patrick Jackson put the Trojans on the board first when he scored from 37 yards out. The PAT failed for a 6-0 lead early in the first.
The Wildcats would then reel off 24 consecutive points to take a 24-6 lead by the 10:41 mark of the third quarter after touchdown runs from T.J. Wash and D.D. Griffin and a field goal from Gayden Hence.
, but the Trojans would make a furious push in the second half to cut the score to a five-point lead for PRCC.
Delta quarterback Jordan Gilleylen threw TD passes to Ranauldrick Murrell and Lebarron Jones, and after a point after attempt that was good and a two-point conversion that was no good, it was a 24-19 ballgame.
MDCC had an opportunity to score the go-ahead touchdown on the game’s final possession, but the Wildcats intercepted a Gilleylen pass with just under a minute remaining.
Gilleylen finished the contest 16 of 29 for 220 yards, two touchdowns and one interception through the air, while the offensive duo of Jackson and Jones were able to continue their consistency as they had done all season. Jackson had 16 carries for 105 yards and one rushing touchdown, while Jones had eight catches for 129 yards and one touchdown.
Kyle Cass saved his best defensive effort for the final game as the sophomore defensive back had 11 tackles and two pass breakups. He was helped out by the likes of KeShaun Blackmon, who finished with six tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss.
nContact Calvin Stevens at cstevens@gwcommonwealth.com.
