If the Copiah-Lincoln Wolves (4-1) want to stay in contention for one of the playoffs spots in the MACCC postseason, they’ll need to do something no other school has done this season, beat Mississippi Gulf Coast (5-0).

The Wolves and Bulldogs will meet for a 7 p.m. kickoff Thursday in Perkinston.

The Bulldogs have a big-time offense as they’re averaging 50 points per game.

MGCCC has won three out of the last five against Co-Lin, but many of those have been close games that were decided by a few plays or possessions.

The Bulldogs won 31-28 last season and defeated the Wolves 14-13 in a heartbreaker in 2021.

Co-Lin has a short week as they played at Coahoma on Saturday, a 20-6 win.

CLCC led 7-0 at halftime and didn’t give up a touchdown to the Tigers from Clarksdale until the fourth quarter.

The ground game was a big part of Co-Lin earning the win on Saturday as they had two running backs go over 100 yards on the ground. Freshman running back Tray Minor (Natchez High) rushed 20 times for 119 yards and two scores. Sophomore running back Johnnie Daniels (Crystal Springs) carried the ball 13 times for 116 yards and another score.

Sophomore quarterback DeVon Tott (Mandeville, La.) went 10-of-19 passing for 92 yards. Brookhaven Academy alum Trevor Fortenberry caught two passes for 18 yards.

Defensive back Jahron Manning led the CLCC defense with 10 tackles. Linebacker Collin McGowan (Wesson) made nine tackles. Defensive back Navarion Benson (Crystal Springs) picked off a pass against Coahoma and also finished with six tackles. Defensive lineman Billy Pullen (Kaufman, Tx.) had an outstanding game as he was in on 3.5 sacks that accounted for 19 lost yards.

The CLCC defense held Coahoma to 6-of-20 on third down conversion attempts.

Gulf Coast is paced by sophomore quarterback Eli Anderson, who won a MACCC state championship last season while leading the offense at East Mississippi CC.

The Bulldog offense is averaging 519 games per game and the defense is allowing just 17 points per contest. Former Co-Lin assistant coach Brett Shufelt is the defensive coordinator at Gulf Coast.

In other MACCC action to be played on Thursday, Itawamba (1-4) visits Holmes (3-2), Northeast Mississippi (5-0) looks to stay unbeaten at East Central (2-3), East Mississippi (3-2) visits Coahoma (1-4), Southwest Mississippi (1-4) makes the short trip to Hinds (2-3), Jones College (4-1) visits Pearl River (0-5) and Northwest Mississippi (3-2) invades Mississippi Delta (1-4).