Sunday November 28, 2004
Pearl River pounds Butler for NJCAA championship
Wildcats undisputed national champions after convincing 35-14 romp over Grizzlies in Dalton Defenders Bowl in Coffeyville, Kan.

    COFFEYVILLE, Kan. — Pearl River Community College is now the undisputed 
NJCAA national football champion after its convincing 35-14 victory over the defending champ Butler County (Kan.) Grizzlies here Sunday in the Dalton Defenders Bowl.
    The national title bout pitted No. 1 Butler, located in El Dorado, Kan.; against No. 2 Pearl River and the Wildcats left little doubt about the superiority of the MACJC over Kansas’ league in 2004.
    The Wildcats, who repeated as state champions with a 24-13 win over Hinds Nov. 13 in Poplarville, dominated the afternoon in practically every facet of the game. Both of Butler’s touchdowns came off PRCC turnovers and the victory snapped a 23-game winning streak by the Jayhawk Conference champions.
    Pearl River, which won its only other national title in 1961 under legendeary coach Dobie Holden, extended its winning stretch to 19 games.
    Third-year PRCC head coach Tim Hatten was obviously elated, but also a bit surprised by the Wildcats’ domination.
    “Offensively, I thought we would score some points, but defensively, I thought they would score more points than they did,” he said. “We’re just happy to bring a national championship trophy back to south Mississippi.
    “I really haven’t have time to think about it,” he continued. “It’s been a whirlwind. Maybe when we get back, it’ll sink in; but it does feel good. This is a special group of guys. This trip has been wonderful from A-to-Z.”
    Pearl River proved to have too many weapons and too much speed for the Grizzlies to handle, even though the Wildcats spotted BCCC seven points in the first quarter before rolling to a commanding 21-7 lead at the half.
    The Wildcats fumbled the ball away twice in the first quarter with the second miscue — a muffled punt return by preseason All-American Larry Brackins of Dothan, Ala. — setting up the Grizzlies’ first score at the PRCC 38. Butler quarterback Zac Taylor capped the six-play scoring drive with a 12-yard pass to Brian Murph. Matt Landess’ PAT made it 7-0 with 1:46 left in the opening quarter.
    But Pearl River recovered quickly. After returning the Grizzlies ensuing kickoff to 
the 33, it took only six plays for the Wildcats to tie it up. Quarterback Jimmy Oliver of East Marion, Region 23's “Player of the Year,” completed three of three passes in the drive; then handed off to preseason All-American running back Bernard Smith of Lake Wales, Fla., who ran it in from the 11. Chris St. John of Oak Grove added the extra point to deadlock things at 7-7 with 14:17 left in the half.
    Then The River’s floodgates opened. Six minutes later, Wildcat linebacker Gene Coleman of Lake Wales, Fla., picked off his first of two interceptions in the game — his only two picks of the season — at the 45 and sped down to the six. Oliver hit Brackins with a TD pass on first down and St. John’s extra point gave the Wildcats the lead for good at 14-7 with 7:20 left in the half.
    On Pearl River’s final possession of the half, Oliver engineered a 12-play scoring drive from his own 12; completing six of seven tosses, then keeping from the four for another Wildcat TD. Four of his completions went to wideout Josh Barnes of Hattiesburg High with two of the sophomore’s catches converting crucial first downs.
    Brackins snagged two passes in the drive for 34 yards with the last being a 21-yarder to set up Oliver’s scoring run. St. John’s PAT made it 21-7 with 24 seconds left before the intermission.
    Butler returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield, then Taylor hit Murph with back-to-back completions to the Wildcat 27; but Landess’ 44-yard field goal attempt was no good as the half ended.
    The Grizzlies got a break early in the second half when they took over at the Wildcat 20 after an errant punt snap resulted in a 20-yard loss and a 15-yard penalty on PRCC. Butler’s Ryan Torain carried three straight times with the last being for the TD from the four. Landess’ PAT cut Pearl River’s lead to 21-14 with 11:52 left in the third quarter.
    Freshman Mike McClendon of Quitman returned the ensuing kickoff 23 yards to the Wildcat 45, then Oliver hit Brackins for 22 yards to the Grizzly 23. Oliver lost two yards on first down, then Butler took over on downs three snaps later at the 25. But Coleman answered the Grizzlies’ defensive stand by picking off Taylor three plays later and returning his interception six yards to the Butler 28.
    Five plays later, Oliver hit Brackins with a 10-yard scoring pass with 8:05 left in the period. Sam Thomas of Oak Grove caught two passes for 17 yards following Coleman’s pick. St. John’s extra point made it 28-14.
    Butler rebounded with a 16-play drive — 11 on the ground — from its own 28 to the Wildcat 23, but came up short when Taylor threw incomplete on a fourth-and-14. The Grizzlies converted two previous fourth-down situations in the drive.
    Three plays into Butler’s next possession, All-Region 23 defensive back Levance Richmond of Lake Wales, Fla., picked off Taylor at the Grizzly 43 and ran it in for the final TD of the afternoon. St. John’s extra point ended the scoring with 11:13 left.
    Richmond snatched away another Taylor pass at the Grizzly 29 on Butler’s next possession, marking his NJCAA-best 13th of the season. The Wildcats marched to the BCCC 21 in nine plays, but St. John was wide on a 38-yard field goal attempt.
    Pearl River intercepted its fifth and final pass of the afternoon four plays into Butler’s next possession when linebacker Glentrelle Ware of Monroe, La. — who signed with the Grizzlies out of West Monroe High School in 2002 before transferring to PRCC after a redshirt season — picked off Taylor at the 37.
    Oliver threw his 12th and final interception of the season three plays later at the Butler 43, then the Grizzlies’ comeback hopes were dashed when Taylor threw incomplete on a fourth-and-15 at midfield eight snaps later. Pearl River answered with a three-and-out, then three Butler rushing plays ended the game.
    Pearl River finished the game with 20 first downs (13 in the first half) to Butler’s 18, while amassing 404 yards of total offense (296 pass, 108 rush) to the Grizzlies’ 245 (84 pass, 161 rush).
    Oliver was 34 of 40 (one interception) through the air for all the Wildcat passing yardage with McClendon leading the way on the ground with 71 yards on seven carries. Smith finished with 44 yards on nine attempts, while Oliver kept four times or 15 yards.
    Brackins led all receivers in the contest with 167 yards on 11 catches, while 
Barnes snagged seven Oliver aerials for 100 yards. Thomas had three catches for 23 yards, while Brandon Fountain of Moss Point had two snags for five yards.
    Taylor completed 10 of 35 passes (five interceptions), while Grizzlies never fumbled in the game. Pearl River, on the other hand, lost three of four fumbles.
    Torian, a freshman, led all rushers in the contest with 84 yards on 17 carries, while sophomore Kenny Wilson had 71 on 20.
    Pearl River was penalized three times for 35.5 yards, while BCCC drew four flags 
for 55.5.
    St. John punted three times for a 35.5-yard average, while Matt Jacobsen punted four times for the Grizzlies for a 55.5-yard average; including super-impressive 57 and 76-yarders in the first half.
    Fifth-year Butler head coach Troy Morrell was humble in defeat.
    “They (Pearl River) are just an unbelievable team,” he said. “They have incredible athletes. We’ve got guys who played well throughout the season, but didn’t have very good games today. You can’t do that against a great team like Pearl River.
    “We were inconsistent and didn’t play up to our capabilities.”
    Butler CC defeated Coffeyville CC (Kan.) — the hosts of the bowl — 37-26 for the Jayhawk championship Nov. 7.