Still riding high following last week's 51-6 win over Mississippi Delta to kick off the 2023 campaign, the Bears are hoping to make it 2-0 on the young season Thursday. But standing in their way is not only a near four-hour road trip even further north into the Mississippi Delta but a talented Coahoma Tiger team.
 
Southwest head coach Cliff Collins was happy to get the win last week, but wants his team to limit the mistakes in the next outing.
 
"I've been on the guys about cleaning up things that we did not do well," he said. "This is another road trip and we go another hour further north. We had a great day of practice the other day and we are just excited, ready to get back on the road and ready to get going."
 
The Bears got several big performances on both sides of the ball in Thursday's win including freshman running back Jalen Williams breaking the century mark in rushing yards with 115 on just 11 carries to go along with three scores. He also had 149 kick return yards and a touchdown on special teams earning the MACCC Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honor.  
 
Also on offense, freshman Damarcco Blanton quickly made an impact, hauling in six passes for 73 yards and a pair of touchdowns, both of which came in the first half of play.
 
On the defensive side, a pair of sophomores shined as lineman James Kate III had a pair of sacks while Ethan Williams led the team in tackles with 11 to go along with a sack and a fumble forced.
 
Collins said that on the offensive side of the ball, he was pleased with the way the Bears moved the ball up the field and how everyone did their jobs. Praise was also given to the defense as it gave the Delta offense fits nearly the entire game.
 
In order to keep that stellar play going, Collins knows that they will have to face a tough Tiger team who fell in their Week 1 contest 62-7 to East Central.
 
"Coahoma is a really good football team, I know that the score isn't indicative of how well they played last week," Collins said. "They have some players, they have some guys that can go and they are a good football team. We have to be ready to play when we go up there. It is their first home game, the home opener. They are going to be fired up and ready to go."
 
With the Southwest home opener against Miss. Gulf Coast next week, Collins hopes that his guys remain focused and have their eyes on the prize against Coahoma and not think ahead.
 
"My goal is just to be 1-0 every week," Collins said. "We are just thinking about this week here, going up there getting a win and then on to the next one. If we take care of business, then we will be 2-0."
 
The Bears and the Tigers kick off Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in Clarksdale. You can tune into the game on BearTV.