POPLARVILLE — Pearl River's Gridiron Wildcats will go toe to toe with a rare opponent Saturday when the Maroon and Gold trek to Moorhead to face Mississippi Delta for the first time since 2013.
Kickoff against the North Division foe is set for 2:30 p.m.
The game will be streamed at PRCCAthletics.com. It can be heard on WRJW 1320-AM in Pearl River County, WCJU 104.9-FM in Columbia and on the WRJW app.
The Trojans (3-5) enter the contest having won three of their last four games, with consecutive victories over Coahoma, Northeast and Itawamba.
"We're going to get their very best effort," Egger said. "They're going to be ready to go. They have a lot of confidence and are playing well."
The unquestioned leader of the Trojans' offense is quarterback Tyrique McAfee. The sophomore has completed 53.6 percent of his passes for 1,234 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has also thrown seven interceptions.
"Their QB is their guy," Egger said. "He's a dual threat guy who can throw it and run. They rely on him to make plays."
MDCC's defense has also gotten after it, especially in wins over ICC and NEMCC, picking off seven passes in the two games.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Pearl River defense is coming off of a strong Homecoming performance where the Wildcats (1-7) picked off Gulf Coast three times — with two inside the red zone. In addition, the Bulldogs, which entered the contest as one of the country's top rushing attacks, were held to a season-low 3.2 yards per carry and their second lowest rushing total of 153 yards on a season-high 48 carries.
"Our mindset is still going to be the same," Egger said. "Our defensive line is playing as well as anybody. They're making things happen and winning up front.
"We also have some guys at linebacker and defensive back who are making plays."
Cory Jackson (Jackson; Madison-Ridgeland Academy), Ron Baker (Prentiss; Jefferson Davis) and Reggie Williams (Hattiesburg) all had interceptions in the game, but one of the big standouts was Lake product D'ezekius Chapman. The freshman defensive lineman had his biggest game of the year, totaling five tackles and two sacks.
"He played great," Egger said. "He had a great game."
Offensively, Ron Thompson (Bassfield) remains among the nation's leading rushers. The sophomore leads PRCC with 830 yards and four rushing touchdowns on 121 carries.
Having accumulated 1,313 yards over two seasons, Thompson heads into his final game in the Maroon and Gold among the school's all-time leaders.
PRCC leads the all-time series against Delta 33-12-2, according to school records.
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