POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River football team will need a complete team effort Thursday evening as the Wildcats make the nearly five-hour trip to Senatobia to take on the No. 13 Northwest Rangers.
"We're at the point where we're still trying to figure out who we are on offense," head coach Seth Smith said. "I knew it would be a challenge to replace 10 guys, but we're still trying to find the right pieces to that puzzle.
"I think from game one to game two that we improved, and I think we will improve from game two to game three. At the end of the day, you have to have an identity. We've gotten away from that. We always ran to set up the pass, but this year, we've thrown more than we have run, and we're not built for that. We've got to get back to what we do and how we do things, and we will be just fine."
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Pearl River quarterback Dustin Allison (Pass Christian) has thrown for 206 yards on 27 completions this season.
Kayvon Barnes (Pascagoula) leads all Wildcat rushers with 17 carries for 60 yards.
"That's one of the pieces we're looking for. Who is going to be Nick (Milsap) this year," Smith said. "I thought midway through the third quarter, he jumped in and started running hard. As much as we've been throwing, some of these guys haven't been given a good opportunity. I thought he took advantage of his opportunity."
Darnell Smith Jr. (Picayune) is second with 30 yards on 11 carries.
Jordan Watts (Douglasville, Ga.; Alexander) has caught 11 passes for 59 yards. Marquis McCoy (Crestview, Fla.) has eight catches for 46 yards. Jordan Coleman leads PRCC in receiving yards with 99 on six catches.
Tyree Jackson (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) finished last game with six tackles, three TFLs and half of a sack. He has 14 tackles on the season.
"He's doing what we thought he would," Smith said. "He plays with a motor, and I thought you saw how hard he played, which is why he made a lot of plays the other night."
ABOUT NORTHWEST
Northwest (1-1) enters the week fresh off a 19-3 victory over Hinds in its home opener. Pearl River narrowly lost last season's matchup 21-14 and leads the all-time series 26-14.
"They're really good. In reference to last year, we had every opportunity to win the game," Smith said. "We were winning at halftime and through three quarters but let it slip away at the end.
"The biggest thing from last year is just showing our guys last year's film and how close we were. There are a lot of new people who weren't here last year. We just have to show them we can do this if we take care of the football, block up front and tackle. If we do those things, this will be a good game. If you don't, they'll embarrass you."
The Rangers are led by USC transfer Keegan Patterson, who has completed 54.1 percent of his passes this season for 349 yards and two touchdowns. He's thrown three interceptions.
"He's going to be good. He had a few turnovers in week one, but that's typical in your first week. Last week, he looked excellent against Hinds. We have to play extremely hard and disciplined."
Leading the rushing attack is Xavier Davis, who has carried the ball 20 times for 50. Patterson has run for 63 yards on 13 carries. Receiver Kyler Hutton has seven catches for 65 yards this season. Jevell Fugerson has caught four for 65 yards.
JyKeon Cunnigham leads NWCC in tackles with eight. Kamp Shepherd is second with seven. He also has two TFLs and one sack.
TICKETS
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at NWCCRangers.com/Tickets.
TUNE IN
All Pearl River football games are livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com/Gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" channel from their app stores.
Games will also be available over the air in Pearl River County by tuning into 1320 AM and 106.9 FM. The radio broadcast is also available at WRJWRadio.com and by downloading the WRJW app.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).