Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is using its ability to mount late-game comebacks to climb up the national rankings.

The fifth-ranked Bulldogs scored two touchdowns in the last six minutes, including a 34-yard pass from Landon Varnes to Mason Beverly for the game-winner with 1:03 left, to beat No. 10 Jones College 27-20 on Thursday.

It was the second time in three games that Gulf Coast has scored twice late in the fourth quarter to beat a ranked opponent, after also doing it in the season opener against East Mississippi.

Gulf Coast beat Jones (2-1, 0-1 MACCC South) for the sixth consecutive time.

“Despite all the gravity and the weight of the standings on the outcome, it was just a lot of fun,” Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. “It was typical Gulf Coast-Jones. It’s why you get in coaching, to play in games that matter against good teams in front of a crowd with an atmosphere like this. I’m proud to be the coach here. I’m exhausted, but it was a great night, especially because we won.”

Former Warren Central star Trey Hall rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown for Gulf Coast (3-1, 1-0. About half of his yards came on a 67-yard TD that tied the score at 13 with 6:12 left in the third quarter.

FOOTBALL | 🖐️ goes 6⃣7⃣ for 6⃣@HallTreyvion makes a house call: pic.twitter.com/22drcQ2wwj

— MGCCC Athletics (@MGCCCBulldogs) September 13, 2024

Hall was going toward the end zone for the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter when he fumbled inside the 5-yard line. Jones’ Jadan Aubert scooped it up and returned it 100 yards the other way to give the Bobcats a 20-13 lead. It was one of three second-half turnovers by Gulf Coast.

Later in the fourth, however, Varnes tied it again with a 1-yard TD run and then led the winning drive on Gulf Coast’s next possession. Varnes’ TD pass to Beverly put the Bulldogs ahead 27-20 and capped an 11-play, 96-yard drive.

Gulf Coast’s Montrell Chapman intercepted a pass with less than a minute left to seal it.
Varnes finished 26-of-37 passing for 310 yards and two touchdowns, along with his rushing TD. He threw two interceptions.

Former Vicksburg High star Tyler Henderson caught only four passes for 37 yards, but one of those was a crucial third-down conversion on the winning drive. JP Coulter led the Bulldogs with nine receptions for 118 yards.

Copiah-Lincoln 48, Hinds 0
Tray Minor rushed for 11 yards and three touchdowns, Deantre Jackson had 92 yards and a TD, and No. 15 Copiah-Lincoln (2-1, 1-0 MACCC South) shut out Hinds (0-3, 0-1).

Minor scored on runs of 4 and 5 yards in the first half as Co-Lin built a 27-0 lead at halftime. He added a 34-yard TD in the fourth quarter.

Jabari Watson was 10-for-20 passing for 89 yards for Hinds, while Julius Bradley led the Eagles’ rushers with 11 attempts for 29 yards. Hinds only had 134 yards of total offense, and has scored 10 points in its first three games. It has not scored a touchdown in the past 11 quarters.

Vicksburg High alum Kearris Gilliam had three solo tackles for Hinds’ defense, and his high school teammate Koury Vample had one assist.

Holmes 42, Coahoma 23
Chase Richardson completed 25 of 50 passes for 362 yards and four touchdowns to lead Holmes Community College (3-0, 1-0 MACCC North) past Coahoma Community College (0-3, 0-3).

Three of Richardson’s touchdowns came in the first quarter as Holmes raced to a 21-7 lead. Coahoma rallied to tie it at 23 on a 49-yard TD pass from Ashton Strother to Brandon Johnson late in the second quarter, but the PAT was blocked and returned by Holmes for a defensive two-point conversion that put Holmes back in front 25-23.

Holmes then scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to pull away.

Strother finished with 278 passing yards and two touchdowns for Coahoma, and also ran for a TD. Johnson caught four passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.

East Central 20, Itawamba 9
Donnie Smith scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 26-yard interception return in the third quarter, and East Central Community College’s defense had four takeaways and four sacks in a win against Itawamba (2-1).

East Central (2-1) won despite only gaining 278 total yards. Landon Sims threw a 44-yard TD pass to Josh Palmer on the final play of the first half, and Chris Tucker scored on a 1-yard run with 2:23 left in the game to seal it.
Smith finished with 15 tackles — 13 of them solos — one interception, and one fumble recovery.

Itawamba quarterback Ty Davis was 9-for-21 passing for 110 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Pearl River 27, Southwest 17
Keenan Franks and Jacobi Jefferson each rushed for more than 100 yards and scored touchdowns to lead Pearl River Community College (2-1, 1-0 MACCC South) past Southwest Mississippi (0-3, 0-1).

Franks finished with 141 yards and two touchdowns, while Jefferson had 107 yards and one TD. Pearl River quarterback Kabe Barnett also ran for 68 yards and a touchdown as the Wildcats totaled 318 yards on the ground.

Tedarrius Aych rushed for two touchdowns for Southwest Mississippi.