Pearl River pounds Butler for NJCAA championship
by Mitch Deaver / PRCC Sports Information
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. 13th 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.
Pearl River quarterback Jimmy Oliver of East Marion gets a victory ride
following the Wildcats' 35-14 victory over Butler County CC in the Dalton
Defenders Bowl in Coffeyville, Kan., Sunday for the undisputed NJCAA
national championship. MACJC state champion PRCC finished the season
at 12-0. --- PRCC Sports Information Photo By Mitch Deaver
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 incon-
sistent 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 on November 7th.