Bears fall at home to 8th-ranked Gulf Coast

By: Michael D. Gunnell, Southwest Sports Information

Chuck Barnes

Football | 10/2/2015 6:38:00 AM

The 8^th-ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs proved themselves worthy of their ranking Thursday night as they traveled to Summit and left town with a 37-10 win over the home standing Southwest Bears.

The win moved the Bulldogs to 5-1 overall and kept them undefeated in the MACJC South at 4-0. The Bears dropped to 2-4 and 1-3 with the loss.

The Bears took an early 3-0 lead in the game. Taking the opening kickoff at their own 21-yard line, they marched down to the Gulf Coast nine. The drive stalled there, however, and the Bears were forced to settle for a 26-yard Reed James field goal with 10:34 left on the clock.

The Bears' next drive saw them move to the Bulldogs' 30-yard line, but a missed field goal ended the scoring threat.

After that, the tide turned in favor of the visitors. A nine-play, 70-yard drive late in the quarter resulted in a two-yard Ge'Vonte Jones touchdown run with 0:08 to play. A botched extra point attempt left the Bulldogs with a 6-3 lead going into the second quarter.

Touchdown runs by Tevaris McCormick and Chris Robinson, along with two Joshua Rowland PAT's and 38-yard yard field goal in the second quarter put the Bulldogs on top 23-3 after the first 30:00 of play.

McCormick and Walter Williams added touchdown runs, and Rowland added two more PAT's, in the third quarter to move the Bulldogs out to a comfortable 37-3 advantage going into the fourth.

A 39-yard Trey Fleming punt return in the fourth quarter led to the Bears' only touchdown of the night. Taking over at the Bulldogs' 43-yard line, the Bears moved to the 13-yard line before Casey Haygood connected with Shuntez Smith for a touchdown pass with 5:33 left in the game. James added the extra point for the final score of the night.

"It's obvious to anybody watching the game (that it turned around for the Bears after their first two drives)," said Bears' head coach Tucker Peavey. "We didn't block, we didn't make the plays and didn't hurt them on the big catches like we did at the beginning of the game."

"They (Gulf Coast) just outplayed us when it was all said and done," Peavey continued. "They're a really good football team. I thought we played hard, we just didn't play real smart a lot of times and we didn't make some of the plays that we can."

Justin Blue carried the ball 21 times for 64 yards while LaDarion Peterson had 64 yards on 14 carries to lead the Bears' ground game.

Through the air, Haygood completed 10 of 24 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. Ravian Pierce and
Sidney Davis, Jr. , both had two catches for 22 and 18 yards, respectively. Smith had a 13-yard touchdown reception.

The Bears collected 18 first downs in the game and were penalized once for 15 yards. Brandon Mancuso averaged 33.8 yards on six punts.

The Bulldogs' offensive attack was led by A. J. Erdely who completed 23 of 27 passes for 209 yards. Robinson paced the Bulldogs' ground game with 84 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

The Bulldogs recorded 21 first downs on the night. They were penalized five times for 51 yards. Tyler Flathau punted four times for a 38.5 yard
average.

It is Homecoming at Southwest on October 10 as the Bears host the Coahoma Tigers for their next contest. Kickoff is set for 5:00.

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Players Mentioned

#2 Sidney Davis, Jr.: 5' 11"; Freshman

#3 LaDarion Peterson: 5' 10"; Sophomore

#4 Shuntez Smith: 5' 10"; Sophomore

#6 Ravian Pierce: 6' 3"; Freshman

#16 Casey Haygood: 6' 4"; Freshman

#22 Justin Blue: 5' 8"; Sophomore

#34 Brandon Mancuso: 5' 10"; Sophomore

#36 Reed James: 5' 10"; Sophomore

#80 Trey Fleming: 5' 8"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#2 Sidney Davis, Jr.
: 5' 11"; Freshman

#3 LaDarion Peterson
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

#4 Shuntez Smith
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

#6 Ravian Pierce
: 6' 3"; Freshman

#16 Casey Haygood
: 6' 4"; Freshman

#22 Justin Blue
: 5' 8"; Sophomore

#34 Brandon Mancuso
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

#36 Reed James
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

#80 Trey Fleming
: 5' 8"; Freshman

Southwest Mississippi Community College

Scoreboard

Bears fall at home to 8th-ranked Gulf Coast

Players Mentioned

#2 Sidney Davis, Jr.

#3 LaDarion Peterson

#4 Shuntez Smith

#6 Ravian Pierce

#16 Casey Haygood

#22 Justin Blue

#34 Brandon Mancuso

#36 Reed James

#80 Trey Fleming

Players Mentioned

#2 Sidney Davis, Jr.

#3 LaDarion Peterson

#4 Shuntez Smith

#6 Ravian Pierce

#16 Casey Haygood

#22 Justin Blue

#34 Brandon Mancuso

#36 Reed James

#80 Trey Fleming