PRCC's Ian González shines against Copiah-Lincoln

Dylan Dunaway - PRCC Sports Information Director

POPLARVILLE, Miss. — Freshman quarterback Ian González (Mexico City, Mexico; St. Stanislaus) put on a show in his first collegiate start for the Pearl River football team, but Copiah-Lincoln took a hard-fought victory, 24-17.

"Losing is miserable, but I am so proud of how they fought tonight," head coach Seth Smith said. "We didn't fight when we played Gulf Coast. I can at least swallow this one, knowing that our kids laid it all on the line tonight. We played extremely hard and had our opportunities. It came down to having too many penalties." 

González gashed a Wolves team that was averaging less than 40 yards of rushing offense allowed per game, racking up an incredible 238 yards on the ground. His 238 yards were the most by a Wildcat since Tony Brown rushed for 229 against Holmes in 2021.

"Coach (David) Boykin and coach (David) Chatham had a great game plan all week, and it showed tonight," Smith said. "They had given up just 37 yards rushing per game, and we obviously had well over 200 tonight."

Copiah-Lincoln (4-2 overall; 3-1 MACCC) scored on its opening drive of the night against Pearl River (3-3; 2-2), using an 8-play, 49-yard drive to get it done. It was capped off by a 2-yard rushing score, 7-0.

The Wildcats responded instantly on the ensuing drive. Pearl River ran a trio of plays before González unleashed the first of many impressive scrambles on the night. He faked a pass in the flat, tucked it and started to run. When a defender came crashing in, the Mexico native used a juke move to get around him and went for 45 yards.

The Wildcats kept pushing down the field with the ground game before González tossed a dart over the middle of the field to Christian White (Ocean Springs) for a 5-yard touchdown. Morgan Craft's (Picayune) extra point was good, and the score was tied 7-7.

Copiah-Lincoln went right back in front on its follow-up drive, completing a 5-yard touchdown pass with 5:34 left in the opening quarter, 14-7.

The legs of González led PRCC right back on another scoring drive after the CLCC score. On a drive that started at the Wildcat 25-yard line, he executed the read-option to perfection and scampered up the right side of the field before being tackled down at the 50-yard line. Two rushes and a pass competition to Martavious Reed (Forest; Scott Central) later, the Wildcats were sitting at the Copiah-Lincoln 31-yard line. González once again ran the read-option play with success, evading a shoe-string tackle attempt and diving into the endzone by the left side pylon for a 31-yard rushing touchdown, 14-14.

The tie was short-lived, with the Wolves moving in front at 10:52 in the quarter. After moving the ball deep into PRCC territory, the Wildcats were the recipient of a huge 5-yard tackle for loss from Amarion Tyson (Picayune) and Tim Williams Jr. (Mobile, Ala.; Theodore). The next two plays didn't result in a first down, so CLCC booted a 26-yard field goal, 17-14.

It was a stalemate between the teams for the rest of the half.

Pearl River's third drive of the second half evened up the scoreline at 17 apiece. PRCC was forced into a fourth and one-yard-to-go situation that Keenan Franks (State Line; Greene County) picked up with some extra effort at the line of scrimmage, and when the drive stalled out, Craft nailed a 35-yard field goal. 

The Wolves used a 5-play, 76-yard drive to push back ahead 24-17 with 6:28 left in the contest. On what proved to be PRCC's final drive of the night, the Wildcats successfully moved the ball. González did his best Houdini act down the field, scrambling for 45 yards and passing for another 35 — often weaving his way in and out of trouble. The freshman looked as if he had tied up the game after slinging a pass across the middle of the field to Henry Lee Jr. (Kenner, La.; East Jefferson) for a touchdown, but the Wildcats were called for an illegal man downfield. González slipped before the line of scrimmage on the ensuing play, and Copiah-Lincoln intercepted his last-ditch effort on the following play to close out the game, 24-17.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

González put on a show in his first career start. The freshman finished 8-for-17 for 67 yards and a score through the air and did the rest of his damage on the ground. On 32 carries, the Mexico native racked up an incredible 238 yards and a touchdown.

Franks was PRCC's second-best rusher on the night, tallying 13 carries and 49 yards.

Reed led PRCC in receptions and receiving yards with four and 27, respectively. Lee Jr. caught two passes for 19 yards.

Jadarrius Gordon (Canton) led PRCC in tackles with nine. Trace Carter (Ocean Springs) was second with seven tackles. Jalen Anderson (Slidell, La.) tallied 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss in the game.

NEXT UP

PRCC remains at home next Thursday as East Mississippi makes the trip to Dobie Holden Stadium. Kickoff 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).