POPLARVILLE, Miss. — Fresh off a 35-14 Homecoming victory over Southwest, the Pearl River football team is set to hit the road on Thursday to take on East Central for its season finale. Kickoff in Decatur is set for 6:30 p.m.
"It was finally a complete game. The defense did a good job, the offense did a good job, and we were sound on special teams," head coach Seth Smith said. "I'm super happy for these kids and the coaches. I am excited that we were 1-0 last week."
Pearl River rumbled for 271 yards on 60 attempts in the victory over Southwest — a season-high.
"That was a carryover from Co-Lin," Smith said. "We ran the ball and controlled the clock in the first half. We were all over the place in the second half and got beat. The plan was to do whatever we had to do on offense to give our team a chance. It was about controlling the clock and possessing the football."
ABOUT PEARL RIVER
The quarterback position is led by Ty Hullette (Sentaobia), who is 44-for-77 for 521 yards and a touchdown. He's rushed for 243 yards and a score on 68 attempts.
Kayvon Barnes (Pascagoula) leads PRCC on the ground with 555 yards on 118 carries. He's scored three times. The redshirt sophomore racked up 129 yards rushing in the victory over Southwest.
"Since the beginning of the year, Kayvon has just gotten better and better," Smith said. "He's been here three years and paid his dues. We've kept him around because we believe in him. Each week, he's gotten better and better."
Receivers Marquis McCoy (Crestview, Fla.) and Jordan Coleman (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) are first and second on the team in catches with 27 and 20, respectively. McCoy has 241 receiving yards, while Coleman has 280.
Eli Hackbarth (Birmingham, Ala.; Oak Mountain) is tops on the team in tackles with 58. He's also tallied four TFLs, one sack and one interception. Caleb Williams (Biloxi; D'Iberville) is second on the team with 55 tackles, three TFLs, and one interception. He's broken up a trio of passes. Dalton Lee (Carriere; Pearl River Central) is third on the team in tackles with 53. He leads the Wildcat in TFLs with seven.
ABOUT EAST CENTRAL
East Central enters the contest after a heartbreaking 40-34 overtime loss against Copiah-Lincoln.
The Warriors are led by quarterback Chris Tucker, who has passed for 1,580 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He's completed 144 of 230 pass attempts.
"He's really good," Smith said. "He can throw it well, but he can run it too. He's another one that we have to keep in the pocket. We will need to make sure we can contain him,"
Running back Devontae Causey has carried the ball 140 times for 649 yards and seven touchdowns.
Wide receiver Hayden Jackson has caught 40 passes for 423 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Ethan Howard has hauled in 27 passes for 395 yards and six scores.
Defensively, Kris Robinson has racked up 61 tackles, which is tops on the team. Ka'Daivion Smith is second with 55 tackles. He also has 2.5 TFLs and one interception.
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.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).