Thursday, October 29, 2002
Division champ 'Cats wrap up regular season vs. Co-Lin Thur.
PRCC clinched title with 42-41 come-from-behind win over Perk to grab first
league title since 1992; awaits playoff game Nov. 8 against North No. 2 seed

     POPLARVILLE   The South Division champion Pearl River Community College
Wildcats will wrap up their 2002 regular season here Thursday when league rival
Copiah-Lincoln visits for a 7 p.m. battle in Dobie Holden Stadium.
     For the first time in a decade, the regular-season finale football scrap won't end
the year for the Wildcats, as PRCC targets its first post-season appearance since 1992 after clinching a playoff berth with its stunning 44-17 victory over nationally-ranked Jones Oct. 19.
     Last Saturday, Pearl River iced the division championship with a 42-41 come-from-
behind win over arch-rival Mississippi Gulf Coast in Perkinston, grabbing home-field
advantage throughout the post-season.
     The Wildcats, 5-2 overall and perfect at 5-0 in the division, will play the North's
No. 2 finisher   either Itawamba or Holmes   Nov. 8 at home. ICC and HCC square off
this Thursday in Goodman for the playoff spot.
     "Our Perk win was big any way you look at it, but the biggest thing for us was
getting home-field advantage in the playoffs," said first-year PRCC head coach Tim
Hatten.
     North champ Northeast, 7-1 and 5-0, will host the South's No. 2 seed in the first
round. That playoff spot is still up for grabs between East Central (3-5, 3-2), Jones (6-2, 3-2), and Mississippi Gulf Coast (4-4, 3-2).
     ECCC's hopes lay exclusively with its last regular-season game this Thursday,
when Southwest, 2-6 overall and winless in division play at 0-5 after losing the Co-Lin
16-10 last Thursday in Wesson, hosts the Warriors in Summit. A Warrior win and they're in...a loss and they're out, which will open the door for Thursday's winner of the Jones-Mississippi Gulf Coast game in Ellisville to ice the South's No. 2 seed and a post-season spot.
     Co-Lin opened its season at home with a 24-21 non-division victory over then-
nationally-ranked Mississippi Delta, but followed with three straight losses   13-3 to
Coahoma, 16-7 to Gulf Coast, and 45-3 to Jones   before trimming East Central 34-31
to climax a big Homecoming celebration in Wesson.
     The Wolves followed with two more defeats   36-7 to Hinds and 27-0 to Holmes
  before grabbing last week's 16-10 decision over Southwest for their second league
win of the year.
     Last season, Pearl River took a 20-13 overtime victory over Co-Lin amidst the rain,
mud, and muck in Dobie Holden Stadium after battling the scrappy Wolves to a 13-13
standoff during regulation.
     Wildcat All-American quarterback Charlie Reeve zipped a scoring pass to wide
receiver Otho Graves for a 25-yard touchdown on the very first play of the OT period to
snag the victory.
     
The Rivalry...
     Thursday's game marks the 67th time the two teams have pounded it out on the
gridiron in a rivalry that dates back to 1934 when the Wolves took a 12-0 shutout over
the Wildcats.
     With the exception of 1936's 7-7 deadlock and 1941's 13-13 draw, Pearl River
wasn't victorious over Co-Lin until 1946's 32-7 win. Legendary PRCC head coach
Dobie Holden led the Wildcats on a nine-year winning streak starting in 1948 before the Wolves broke the string with a 20-14 victory in 1955, then won 14-13 in 1957.
     Pearl River pounded the Wolves 52-6 in 1961's state and national championship
season, then took a 50-14 lopsided win two years later in another state title year for the River. After 1964's 42-0 shutout, the Wolves picked up a 15-7 and 21-19 victories in 1965 and 1966, respectively.
     John Russell succeeded Holden in 1967 and was 5-1-1 against the Wolves in his
seven seasons at the Wildcat helm. Harvey Seligman was named interim head coach the 1974 season after Russell resigned during the preseason and recorded a 16-13 win over Co-Lin. J.C. Arban arrived on the scene in 1975 and reeled off a 6-5 mark in his
11 seasons with the Wildcats. Arban's successor, Mike Nelson, was 1-3 against the Wolves, while Willie Coats followed with a 2-3 mark.
     Keith Daniels succeeded Coats in 1995 and was 2-3 in five years. He died of a
brain hemorrhage five games into the 2000 season.
     Pearl River leads the series with 33 wins compared to 31 losses and three ties
and has won an unprecedented 15 state championships. Co-Lin has won nine titles,
including a string of six straight from 1929 through 1934 and back-to-back
championships in 1937 and 1938. The Wolves won their last championship in 1985.

Around the MACJC...
     In other action around the state last week, Northeast clinched the North Division
title winning a 7-6 squeaker over Holmes in Booneville, Copiah-Lincoln nipped
Southwest 16-10 in Wesson, Northwest took a 34-33 overtime victory over East Central in Senatobia, Itawamba celebrated its Homecoming with a 26-33 trimming of 
Mississippi Delta in Fulton, Jones edged Hinds 17-14 in Raymond, and East Mississippi spoiled Coahoma's Homecoming 28-26 in Clarksdale.
     Six Thursday-night games are on tap this week to end the regular season and
three have post-season playoff implications. Holmes (6-2 overall, 3-2 in North Division)
hosts Itawamba (4-4, 3-2) with the winner grabbing the North's No. 2 seed, while East
Central (3-5, 3-2 in South Division) could clinch the South's No. 2 spot with a victory over Southwest (2-6, 0-5) in Summit. Defending state champion Jones (6-2, 3-2) hosts
Mississippi Gulf Coast (4-4, 3-2) in Ellisville. Should ECCC lose to SWCC, the winner of the JCJC-MGCCC battle would ice second place in the South.
     Other Thursday games include South champ Pearl River (6-2, 5-0) hosting Copiah-
Lincoln (3-5, 2-3) in Poplarville, Mississippi Delta (2-6, 1-4) hosting Coahoma
(2-6, 1-4) in Moorhead,  and Northwest (4-4, 3-2) hosting North champ Northeast (7-1, 5-0) in Senatobia.
     East Mississippi (3-5, 2-4) hosts Hinds (4-4, 2-4) Saturday in Scooba for the final
regular season game of the 2002 season.
     Pearl River hosts the North No. 2 seed, while Northeast hosts the South's No. 2
seed Saturday, Nov. 9. The state championship game will be played Saturday, Nov. 16. Game times for both dates have yet to be announced.