POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River football team showed early promise Thursday night, but No. 12 Copiah-Lincoln ultimately proved too much to overcome as the Wildcats fell 39-7 on the road.

"Credit to them, they're really good," head coach Seth Smith said. "I thought we'd be fresh coming into the night, but we didn't match the intensity that we had against Gulf Coast."

Copiah-Lincoln (5-1 overall; 3-1 MACCC) struck on its opening drive, marching 85 yards in 11 plays to punch in a 6-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was no good, keeping the Wolves ahead 6-0.

Pearl River (1-5; 0-4) answered back a few drives later. After a pair of rushes, quarterback Austin Jones (Beaumont; Perry Central) found Howard Kinchen (Lafayette, La.; Patterson) down the right sideline for a 27-yard gain. The Wildcats continued to move the ball, and Jones capped the drive with a 14-yard strike to Bishop McGruder (Gulfport) in the corner of the end zone. Morgan Craft (Picayune) added the extra point to give PRCC a 7-6 lead.

Just as momentum began to swing in Pearl River's favor, the Wolves responded with 16 unanswered points to close out the first half. They connected on a 38-yard field goal, followed with a 3-yard touchdown pass, and added a 26-yard rushing score to take a 22-7 lead into the break.

Copiah-Lincoln carried that momentum into the second half, opening with a six-play, 74-yard drive capped by a 1-yard rushing touchdown. The Wolves later added a 19-yard field goal and a 67-yard touchdown run to round out the scoring, 39-7.

LEADING THE WAY
Jones finished 9-of-16 passing for 94 yards and a touchdown. Kinchen hauled in four receptions for 50 yards, while Kedrick Tripplet (Florence, Ala.) added two catches for 16 yards. McGruder had one catch for a touchdown.

On the ground, Keenan Franks (State Line; Greene County) carried 17 times for 53 yards, and Jacobi Jefferson (Slidell, La.) added 24 yards.

Defensively, Daniel Pickens (Gautier; Resurrection) led the way with 13 tackles. Jeffrey Hopgood (Kiln; Hancock) contributed seven tackles, including one for loss.

NEXT UP
The Wildcats hit the road again next week, traveling to Scooba for a 7 p.m. kickoff against East Mississippi.

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).