Craft's career night sends Pearl River past East Central

Dylan Dunaway - PRCC Sports Information Director

DECATUR, Miss. — They know your name now, Morgan. 

Time was rapidly dwindling in Pearl River's MACCC South Division contest Thursday night as Wildcat coach Seth Smith called a timeout and sent out the kicking unit.

Just like he's dreamed of his entire life, Morgan Craft (Picayune) marched out for a potential game-winning 32-yard field goal against the host East Central Warriors. 

The snap was good; the hold was good; and Craft's strike sailed through the uprights to send the Wildcats past the Warriors 23-20. 

Pandemonium ensued as the buzzer-beater sent jubilant Wildcats spilling onto the field.

"It was the best feeling in the world," Craft said. "If you looked at me in June and into fall camp, I was terrible. I had a lot of things going on in my head and was doubting myself. "We've put a lot of work in to get better. These coaches put a lot of pressure on me because they know what I can do."

Craft had a career night for the Wildcats, nailing field goals of 38, 34 and 32 yards to propel PRCC (3-1 overall; 2-0 MACCC South) to victory.

"When we got the ball and they stopped the clock with three seconds left, I was more excited than I was nervous," he said. "I had all the confidence in the world. I knew I was going to make it.

"It's the best thing ever. It was incredible to celebrate with them because I think some of them don't even know my name. Hopefully, they'll know my name now."

It was a tale of two halves for the Wildcats, who trailed 13-0 when the halftime buzzer sounded.

"I'm really proud of them. They were super resilient tonight," Smith said. "Halftime was spirited. We love these kids, but you have to get them to respond. In the second half, they responded.

"The second half was a matter of mindset. We knew we could win it. I'm proud of them for the way they fought and persevered."

Craft wasn't the only star of the night. Freshman quarterback Ian Gonzalez (Mexico City, Mexico; St. Stanislaus) was thrust into action due to an injury to Pearl River's starting quarterback. The Mexico native produced, leading PRCC to the come-from-behind victory by completing 10 of 14 passes for 60 yards and scrambling for 80 yards and a score on 10 attempts. 

THE COMEBACK

Although the Wildcats were getting the defensive effort they needed, they struggled to move the ball in the first half. Pearl River's defense forced a quick three-and-out when the second half began. That's when the Gonzalez takeover began. He and his running back Keenan Franks (State Line; Greene County) moved the ball down the field quickly and ended up at the Warrior 27-yard line. Gonzalez received the snap, surveyed the right side of the field, tucked the ball and zipped up the field and into the endzone for PRCC's first score, trimming the deficit to 13-7.

On the next East Central drive, AJ Prim (Tylertown; Foley) made his presence known, forcing a fumble, scooping it up and scampering up the field and across the goal line for a score. Craft's PAT attempt was good, and the Wildcats led for the first time all night, 14-13.

The Warriors flushed the miscue quickly, using an 11-play, 65-yard scoring drive to move right back in front with five minutes left on the clock, 20-14.

Pearl River began its next scoring drive with 38 seconds left in the third quarter, leaning on the ground game and a few passes. Gonzalez hit Martavious Reed (Forest; Scott Central) in the flat for a gain of 10 yards. A few rushes later, the Wildcats were at the East Central 21-yard line. Craft stepped to the spot and nailed his 38-yard attempt, 20-17.

The Wildcat defense was unbelievable again on the ensuing ECCC drive. After the Warriors moved the ball to the Wildcat 49-yard line, Charles Atkins Jr. (Metairie, La.; East Jefferson) and Travis Bendolph Jr. (Mobile, Ala.; Theodore) met a running back behind the line of scrimmage for a 4-yard loss. On the following play, Prim ranged over from his defensive end position and shut down a screen attempt for another 4-yard loss. After an incomplete pass, the Warriors were forced to punt once more.

Franks and Gonzalez gashed the Warriors on the drive, combining for 46 rushing yards to go along with 16 passing yards for Gonzalez. The drive stalled out at the East Central 17-yard line, and Craft's 34-yard field goal attempt was good to even up the game at 20-20.

As if Prim hadn't done enough in the game, the sophomore wreaked more havoc on what proved to be ECCC's final drive. The Warrior quarterback dropped back to pass, and Atkins Jr. threw up a hand to shoot the ball into the air. Almost like a baseball centerfielder, Prim looked up and caught the flailing ball for an interception, setting up PRCC in Warrior territory with 1:53 left in the game.

Pearl River drained the clock with three straight rush attempts before Smith called a timeout with two seconds left. When Craft marched out to take the kick, the Warriors attempted to ice him. It didn't matter to the freshman kicker as he nailed his game-winning 32-yard field goal attempt, 23-20.

"All the credit to my coaches and teammates tonight," Gonzalez said. "My coaches encouraged me at halftime. They told me it was my team now and to settle down. I was glad to be the leader my team needed me to be tonight. We're going to enjoy the win right now and move on to the next one."

BY THE NUMBERS

Gonzalez finished with 60 passing yards on 10 of 14 passing. He also rushed for 80 yards and a score. Franks was unreal for the Wildcats on the ground, carrying the ball 24 times for 134 yards. 

Reed led PRCC's receiving attack, catching four passes for 29 yards. Howard Kinchen (Lafayette, La.; Patterson) caught three passes for 22 yards.

Prim had an unreal night on the defensive side of the ball, finishing the contest with eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one interception. Trace Carter (Ocean Springs) and Amarion Tyson (Picayune) had six tackles apiece.

UP NEXT

The Wildcats head to Gulf Coast next Thursday for a huge rivalry matchup against the Bulldogs. Kickoff in Perkinston is set for 7 p.m.

TUNE IN

All Pearl River football games are livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com/Gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" channel from their app stores.

Games can also be heard at WRJW 1320-AM, 106.9 FM and WRJWRadio.com.

TICKETS

Tickets for Pearl River home games are on sale now at PRCCAthletics.com/tickets. Single-game tickets are $10 if purchased in advance while tickets purchased on gameday are $13. General admission football season passes are $38, while chairback reserved seating is $75. All-sport passes are also on sale and are $123. The pass grants entry to all PRCC regular season competitions.  

For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).