POPLARVILLE, Miss. — Coming off a bye week, the Pearl River football team will hit the road Thursday night for a showdown with No. 12 Copiah-Lincoln.
Before the break, the Wildcats dropped a hard-fought rivalry game to Gulf Coast, 42-28. Despite the loss, the Wildcat running game fired off 281 yards on 50 attempts. The Wildcats aim to maintain a strong run game as they travel to Copiah-Lincoln on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased at http://colin.ticketleap.com. They are $12 for adults or $6 for childen.
ABOUT PEARL RIVER
Reese Mooney (Clinton; Denham Springs) led the Wildcats for the first four games of the season until injury forced the freshman Austin Jones (Beaumont; Perry Central) to start against rival Gulf Coast. In his first start, Jones threw ten passes, completing four of them for 69 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. On the season, Jones is 6-for-14 with 85 yards and two touchdowns.
The leading Wildcat receiver, Kedrick Triplett (Florence, Ala.), has hauled in 17 receptions for 348 yards and four touchdowns in the first half of the season, leading Pearl River's passing attack. Averaging an eye-popping 20.5 yards per catch, Triplett has emerged as a true deep threat. Howard Kinchen (Lafayette, La.; Patterson) and Donovan McGowan (Mandeville, La.) complete the trio of dominant receivers with 191 and 223 yards, respectively. Kinchen matches Triplett with four touchdowns, while McGowan brings the group's total to nine with one receiving touchdown of his own.
Pearl River's rushing attack, led by Keenan Franks (State Line; Greene County), has been dominant this season. The sophomore has rushed for 526 yards and six touchdowns on 97 carries. His 105.2 rushing yards per game rank second in the MACCC, while his six rushing touchdowns are fifth in the conference.
On the defensive side of the ball, Daniel Pickens (Gautier; Resurrection) is leading the Wildcats in total tackles with 36. Behind him are Garrett Orgas (Vicksburg; Warren Central) at 28 and Jalen Anderson (Slidell, La.) at 27 tackles. Pickens also has an interception, and Anderson has six sacks, nine tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and one interception.
ABOUT COPIAH-LINCOLN
Co-Lin has used two quarterbacks this season — Eli Viniard and Jaylen Pettway. Viniard has appeared in five games, completing 39 of 71 passes, while Pettway has played in three games and is 26-for-47. The duo has combined for 827 passing yards, four touchdowns, and six interceptions.
Martavious Boswell has led Copiah-Lincoln in the rushing game with 608 yards. Boswell has amassed a MACCC leading 121.6 yards per game and eight touchdowns on 68 rushes.
The Wolves have three receivers topping the 100-yard mark. Jermarj Bell leads the group with 149 yards on 12 catches, followed closely by Darnell O'Quinn with 141 yards on 11 receptions, and Matt Mayfield with 114 yards on nine grabs.
CLCC's defense is anchored by Archie Chambers, who leads the team with 28 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. Right behind him is Lonnie Smith with 26 tackles, along with an interception and a forced fumble of his own. Doug Nelson has also been a key contributor, adding 21 tackles to the Wolves' defensive efforts.
TUNE IN
All Pearl River football games are livestreamed free at PRCCMedia.com/Gold. Fans with Roku, Amazon Fire, or Apple TV can also watch by downloading the "Pearl River CC" channel.
Games will also air locally on WRJW 1320-AM, 106.9 FM, and WRJWRadio.com.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).