PRC defeats East Central 38-24 to win 8th grade conference title
East Central jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead over Pearl River Central in the 8th Grade Gulf Coast Conference Championship game, but the home standing Blue Devils never blinked and stormed back to beat the Hornets 38-24 at Kenneth L. Hendrix Memorial Stadium in Carriere.
Down 8-0, PRC’s Destin Coleman busted loose on a 71 yard run on the first play for the Blue Devils offense and Caleb Dyess ran in the two point conversion to tie the game with 6:10 left in the quarter.
All pictures by Carey Meitzler/WRJW
Destin Coleman on his way to a 71 yard touchdown run
The Hornets moved the ball to the PRC 17, but turned the ball over on downs.
On fourth down and less than a yard to go inside their own 25 yard line, Dyess then took the handoff and weaved his way to a 74 yard touchdown. Gage Peterson threw a pass to Coleman for the two point conversion to make it 16-8 with 3:46 left before half.
Caleb Dyess looks back at an East Central defender on his 74 TD run
East Central came back and moved the ball deep into PRC territory on a long run by quarterback Eli Smith. However, Smith was hit behind the line on fourth down on the last play of the half, fumbled the ball, and the Blue Devils’ Jeffrey Thedy scooped up the loose ball and raised down the sideline for a 74 yard touchdown. The two point try failed and PRC led 22-8 at the half.
Jeffery Thedy (left) takes off on his 'scoop and score' touchdown
The Blue Devils extended the lead early in the third quarter when Dyess scored on a 63 yard run with 6:41 left in the third quarter. Mason Cranmer ran for the 2 point conversion to make it 30-8.
Caleb Dyess (1) just before he broke into the open for his second TD run
East Central scored on their next possession on a 68 yard by Eli Smith with 5:06 left in the quarter. Jake Watts ran the ball for the two point conversion to make it 30-16.
PRC defense (slideshow)
Gage Peterson (2) breaks free down the sideline on a long run
PRC's Cranmer scored on a 6 yard run with 2:18 left in the quarter and Dyess converted the two point run for a 38-16 lead.
East Central closed out the scoring on a 3 yard run by Tucker Smith with 3:01 left in the game. Jared Huff ran for the two point conversion to make the final score 38-24.
PRC finishes the season unbeaten while capturing the conference championship.
