SUMMIT, Miss. — Ian González (Mexico City, Mexico; St. Stanislaus) gave the Pearl River football team something to rally around in the second half Thursday night, but his spark wasn't quite enough as the Wildcats fell 35-20 at Southwest.
Pearl River (1-2 overall; 0-1 MACCC South) opened the night with some early momentum. Cory Jackson (Petal) returned the opening kickoff 34 yards, and just two plays later, Reese Mooney (Clinton; Denham Springs) connected with Donovan McGowan (Mandeville, La.) across the middle for a juggling 17-yard catch. The Wildcats advanced all the way to the Southwest (2-1; 1-0) 11-yard line before the drive stalled and ended on a missed field goal attempt.
The Bears answered with an 11-play, 80-yard march capped off by a 2-yard plunge into the end zone. Their lead quickly grew to 14-0 on a 4-yard quarterback keeper early in the second quarter, and with just over eight minutes left in the half, SMCC stretched the margin to 21-0.
Southwest struck first in the second half as well, finding the end zone on a 15-yard rush to go ahead 28-0. After PRCC turned the ball over on downs, the Bears drove deep into Wildcat territory before Jordan Bender (Soso; West Jones) jarred the ball loose with a well-placed hit. Kesler Jenkins (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) pounced on the fumble to give Pearl River possession.
Taking over at their own 15, the Wildcats turned to González. Following a pair of 4-yard carries by Keenan Franks (State Line; Greene County), González kept the ball on a read-option, bounced left, and sprinted 77 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, trimming the deficit to 28-7.
SMCC extended its lead to 35-7 with 10:20 to play, but González immediately responded. Behind back-to-back 12-yard runs from Kylin Champagne (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) and a 13-yard burst by Franks, PRCC drove into the red zone. González capped the possession by weaving up the middle for his second rushing touchdown, cutting the score to 35-14.
The sophomore quarterback wasn't finished. On Pearl River's next series, he rolled right looking for an option and found McGowan breaking free past the Bear safeties. González lofted a deep ball that McGowan hauled in and rumbled 70 yards to set up first-and-goal. A few plays later, the duo connected again — González firing a pinpoint pass to McGowan in the left corner of the end zone for a score that made it 35-20.
That proved to be the final tally as the Wildcats' rally came up short.
BY THE NUMBERS
González finished 2-for-4 passing for 80 yards and a touchdown while adding eight carries for 85 yards and another score on the ground. Franks eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark for the second straight week with 18 carries for 105 yards, and Champagne added 54 yards on 10 attempts. McGowan turned in a career night, hauling in six receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Daniel Pickens (Gautier; Resurrection Catholic) led PRCC with eight tackles. Alandez Blaylock (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) followed with seven stops, including 1.5 tackles for loss.
NEXT UP
The MACCC runner-up from a season ago, East Central, visits Dobie Holden Stadium next Thursday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
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 can also be heard at WRJW 1320-AM, 106.9 FM and WRJWRadio.com.
TICKETS
Tickets for Pearl River home games are on sale now at PRCCAthletics.com/tickets. General admission tickets are $10 in advance and $13 on game day.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).