Bears drop South Division game at Pearl River

Unable to overcome the Darrell Robinson show, the Southwest Bears dropped a 38-14 MACJC South Division contest at Pearl River Thursday night. A freshman from Noxubee County, Robinson carried the ball 26 times for 148 yards and three touchdowns and was on the receiving end of a scoring pass.

The loss dropped the Bears to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the South. The Wildcats moved to 3-2 overall and 1-1.

Robinson picked up two touchdowns in the first quarter to give Pearl River a 14-0 lead. His first scored came on the opening drive of the game when he caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Shaun White with 9:28 on the clock. The second, a four-yard run, came with 4:50 to play. Mark Moore kicked both extra points.

Southwest got on the board with the only points of the second quarter. De'Angelo Ballard reached paydirt on a nine-yard run to close out a seven play, 69-yard drive with 3:19 to play in the half. Michal McDaniel booted the extra point to make the score 14-7 at the break.

Taking advantage of a Southwest fumble, the Wildcats took a 21-7 lead with 11:32 to play in the third quarter. White tossed a short five-yard touchdown pass to Shaun Jones to complete the quick one-yard drive. With 2:28 to play in the quarter, Robinson scored his third touchdown on the night on a three-yard dash into the end zone. Moore again added both extra points to give the hosts a 28-7 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Bears scored their final points of the night with 14:49 to play in the game. Ballard again did the honors, racing into the end zone from the Pearl River 19-yard line, to close out a six-play, 63-yard drive that began in the third quarter. McDaniel added the extra point to make the score 28-14.

After the ensuing kickoff, the Wildcats wasted no time in answering with their final touchdown of the night. With the ball on the Southwest 47-yard line, Robinson took the ball and quickly outran all defenders to the end zone for his fourth score of the game. Moore's extra point made the score 35-14 with 14:27 on the clock. Brandon King added the final points of the game for Pearl River when he booted an 18-yard field goal with 4:47 left in the game.

After the game, Southwest head coach Tucker Peavey said the Bears could not "contain them (Robinson and White) because we weren't where we were supposed to be. We did very undisciplined things on defense. Offensively, we had too many drops in the first half that killed drives and then you start pressing and we've know that, until we can throw and catch the ball, people are going to overload us and stop the running game just based off of numbers."

"Pearl River's a good football team," Peavey continued. "You've got to give them all of the credit. But, we still do too much stuff that self-destructs and until we can stop that, our chances of winning go way down."

Asked for any bright spots for the Bears, Peavey said "I think we've got guys who play hard. I don't think there's any doubt about that. But, we've got to play disciplined within that type of effort and intensity and then we've got a chance to be better than we are right now. But, until we do that, we won't be because we'll give up too many big plays."

The running game that served Southwest so well last week was held in check Thursday night. As a team, the Bears carried the ball 23 times for only 39 yards. Ballard had 58 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns.

Through the air, Ballard completed eight of 21 passes for 106 yards with one interception. Kelvin Williams caught four passes for 45 yards while Bodarius Johnson caught three for 35 yards. Dylan Knott had a 26-yard reception.

The Bears had only seven first downs in the game and lost both of their fumbles. They were penalized seven times for 47 yards. Taylor Smith punted the ball five times for an average of 34.6 yards per punt.

Troy Egana led the Southwest defense with 12 total tackles. C. J. O'Quin had 10 tackles, including a sack, while Terrien Steele recorded eight stops.

Adding to the Wildcats' 265-yards rushing was White who picked up 66 yards on 10 carries. White completed 10 of 18 passes for 134yards and two touchdowns. Jones caught four passes for 78 yards and a touchdown while Robinson had a touchdown catch.

The Wildcats totaled 20 first downs in the game and were penalized seven times for 54 yards. They lost their only fumble. King punted three times for 31.7 yards.

The Bears return to the gridiron on October 5 when they celebrate Homecoming against the Hinds Eagles (3-2, 1-1). Hinds was a 28-14 winner over East Central Thursday night and was ranked 20^th in the last NJCAA poll.

Print Friendly Version

Southwest Mississippi Community College

Scoreboard

Bears drop South Division game at Pearl River