Facing a second-half deficit for the second week in a row, and an unexpectedly tough challenge, No. 8 Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College pulled up its bootstraps and got to work.

Former Warren Central star Trey Hall rushed for a team-high 142 yards and two touchdowns, backfield mate Chandler Chapman added 92 yards and two TDs, and the Bulldogs overcame a 10-point deficit to beat East Central Community College 28-24 on Thursday.

“The main thing that stands out is defensive resilience,” Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. “We put our defense in some very poor situations. We gave them some very short fields. We had a huge mistake on special teams that gave them a big score and we threw an interception. Our defense really came through tonight.”

Devontae Causey an for 89 yards and two touchdowns for East Central (3-4, 1-3 MACCC South). Quarterback Chris Tucker also ran for 63 yards on 17 carries, and his 1-yard touchdown run with 3:52 left in the third quarter put the Warriors ahead 24-14.

Gulf Coast (6-1, 3-1) answered, however, with touchdowns on two consecutive possessions to take the lead for good. Hall’s 4-yard touchdown run cut it to 24-21 with 18 seconds left in the third quarter, and Chapman’s 1-yard plunge with 8:59 to go in the fourth put the Bulldogs ahead 28-24.

Hall also had a 10-yard TD in the second quarter. He carried the ball 24 times, and also caught one pass for nine yards. Hall had his third consecutive 100-yard game, and has scored five touchdowns in that span.

“I saw a lot of holes,” Hall said. “The O-line started to feel out their guys, and they started opening up holes for me to run. It took a little while to get going, but when they did, we just had to hit it.”

Another Warren Central alum, defensive lineman Damarcus Jones, had three tackles for East Central.

Itawamba 26, Hinds 14
Tylan Carter threw two touchdown passes, and Itawamba Community College (2-5) held off a late rally by Hinds Community College (3-4) to win on Thursday.

Jeremy Evans had a 49-yard interception return touchdown for Hinds, and Tyrell Pollard caught a 3-yard TD pass from Roman Mula to bring the Eagles to within 17-14 with 9:50 left in the fourth quarter.

After Luke Jackson’s 38-yard field goal, his second of the game, put Itawamba in front 20-14, Hinds had one last chance to pull out the comeback victory. The Eagles converted three third downs during a 14-play drive that advanced inside the 5-yard line in the final seconds.

On the last play of the game, Mula’s pass was intercepted by Zech Pratt and returned 99 yards for a touchdown as time expired to give Itawamba the 26-14 victory.

Mula was 18-of-26 passing for 186 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. He was sacked three times. Pollard finished with seven receptions for a season-high 71 yards and a TD for Hinds.

Carter was 10-of-16 passing for 112 yards and two TDs for Itawamba, and Charleston French had 121 rushing yards on 26 carries.

Copiah-Lincoln 33, Pearl River 9
Johnnie Daniels rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown, and Copiah-Lincoln (6-1, 3-1 MACCC South) continued its outstanding season with a victory over Pearl River (0-7, 0-4).

Former Warren Central standout Brandon Gilliam kicked a 36-yard field goal and was 4-for-4 on PATs for Co-Lin. He also averaged 38.0 yards on three punts.

Pearl River jumped out to a 9-0 lead late in the first quarter with a safety and a 3-yard TD run by Kayon Barnes. Daniels scored on a 54-yard run in the second quarter for Co-Lin, and that was the first of 33 unanswered points.

DeVon Tott threw a 32-yard TD pass to Jaylen Smith early in the third quarter to put the Wolves ahead 14-9. A safety, a 5-yard run by Tray Minor, and Gilliam’s 36-yard field goal with 2:27 left made it 26-9.

Holmes 58, Mississippi Delta 6
John Ford and Lonnie Ratlif IV threw two touchdown passes apiece, and Holmes Community College (6-2, 1-2 MACCC North) crushed Mississippi Delta (1-7, 1-3).

The two Holmes quarterbacks combined to complete 18 of 30 passes for 359 yards. Ford also scored a rushing touchdown.

Wide receiver Colton DeShazo caught five passes for 147 yards and a touchdown, and threw a 54-yard TD pass to Deion Smith on Holmes’ first possession. The Bulldogs scored twice more in the first quarter and led 44-7 at halftime.

Northwest Mississippi 55, Coahoma 7
Northwest Mississippi rushed for 358 yards, and held Coahoma Community College to 72 total yards in a one-sided victory on Thursday.

D’Mariun Perteet rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown, and Xavier Davis had 86 and a touchdown on only nine attempts for Northwest Mississippi (5-2, 3-1, MACCC North).

Jevell Fugerson caught two touchdown passes as the Rangers amassed a 42-7 halftime lead. Quarterback Keegan Patterson was 10-of-21 passing for 111 yards and four touchdowns, and also had a 25-yard rushing TD.

Coahoma’s only touchdown came on a 41-yard interception return by Nicolas Townsend on the first play of the game. Northwest improved to 46-2 in its all-time series with Coahoma (1-6, 0-4).