Bears fall at home to Pearl River

Falling behind early, the Southwest Bears could never quite get things rolling their way Thursday night as they fell to visiting Pearl River, 34-7, at John I. Hurst Stadium.

With the loss, the Bears fell to 1-3 on the season and 1-2 in the MACJC's South Division. Pearl River climbed to 3-2 and 1-2.

Pearl River held a 13-0 lead after the first half on the strength of a 60-yard Kaylon Cooper touchdown pass to Bryant Magee in the first quarter and Darrell Robinson's 11-yard scoring run in the second. Jovon Detto added one PAT.

The Wildcats' lead went to 20-0 with 11:03 to play in the third quarter when Cooper found Austin Watts on the end of a 14-yard touchdown pass. Detto added his second extra point.

A short kickoff following Watts' score put the Bears in action on their own 42-yard line. The home team took advantage of their field position and drove the ball 58 yards on eight plays with Chris Jones finishing things with a 20-yard run with 8:42 on the clock. Reed James booted the PAT to make the score 20-7, Pearl River, with one quarter remaining.

That would prove to be all the offense the Bears could muster. With Cooper tosses touchdown passes to Magee (nine yards) and Watts (30 yards) and Detto booted two extra points, the Wildcats went on to the 27-point victory.

"They played better than we did," said Southwest head coach Tucker Peavey. "We were outplayed and outcoached tonight. It was a bad night for us." But, on the positive side, Peavey said "we did play good on defense at times."

The Bears picked up 222 yards of offense on the night, led by De' Angelo Ballard's 76 rushing yards (10 carries). Jones had 56 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Ladarrius Slocum, Tyler Shell and Jonathan McNair also carried the ball.

Through the air, Ballard completed four of 14 passes for 37 yards. He was picked off twice. Shell was good on three of 12 passes for 40 yards with one interception.

Kameron Williams caught two passes for 32 yards with McNair hauling in three passes for 11 yards. Slocum and Shuntez Smith caught one pass each.

The Bears recorded 13 first downs in the game and were penalized eight times for 54 yards. James punted twice for a 42 yards average while Brandon Mancuso punted six times for 34.7 yards.

Cooper paced the Wildcats' offense by completing 12 of 25 passes for 192 yards and four touchdowns. He was intercepted once. Watts pulled in five passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Magee had two catches for 69 yards and two scores.

Cooper also led the Wildcats' rushing attack with 66 yards on 14 carries. Robinson toted the ball 17 times for 57 yards and a touchdown.

The Wildcats registered 16 first downs and were whistled for 65 yards on seven penalties. Cody Mikell punted six times for 34.8 yards.

The Bears now go back to the drawing board as they prepare to travel to Perkinston on October 2 to face the 4^th-ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs. The Bulldogs easily defeated 6^th-ranked Jones County 42-3 Thursday night.

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Bears fall at home to Pearl River