Momentum is, at best, a cantankerous thing. It can be your best friend for a while, then turn around and bite without warning.
The Southwest Community College Bears seemingly had momentum on their side Thursday night, but saw it switch to the side of the Gulf Coast in a 33-16 loss to the Bulldogs in MACJC Southern Division action at John I. Hurst Stadium.
The Bears fell to 1-2 on the season.
After being held to a field goal for much of the first half, the Bears took momentum away from Gulf Coast when they picked up a fumble by receiver Dontrelle Sanford and raced 47 yards to the Bulldogs’ 25.
Two plays later, SMCC quarterback Stanley Jennings found Kiam Magee in the northeast corner of the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown pass.
Magee outraced a Gulf Coast defender for the catch. Brandon Thomas added the extra point to pull the Bears to within 14-10 with 1.8 seconds to go in the first half.
“We got the turnover and ran it back,” Southwest head coach Charles Anthony said. “We had a chance to take the lead going into halftime, but we didn’t. But we felt pretty good going into halftime.”
But any mometum the Bears built up in the second period quickly went the Bulldogs’ way.
On the opening drive of the second half, Gulf Coast (2-1) went 60 yards in 10 plays, with running back Vick Ballard capping the drive with a 3-yard run off right tackle to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 21-10.
Five seconds later, Gulf Coast recovered a Southwest fumble at the Bears’ 19. On the next play, quarterback Greg Jenkins hooked up with receiver Kelvin Bolden on a 19-yard scoring strike to make it 28-10 with 11:16 remaining in the third period.
Jenkins finished the night 19-of-24 passing for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns. All three scoring tosses went to Bolden, who finished with 12 receptions for 166 yards.
“In the second half,” Anthony said, “they just took it to us. They created the momentum. We turned it over a couple of plays and they were able to take advantage. Up to that point, we were playing with them.”
Things got worse for the Bears two drives later. After being pinned back at their 3-yard line, the snap sailed over Jennings’ head for a safety to make it 30-10.
Southwest finally got on the board for the first time in the second half when the Bears capped a quick 4-play, 75-yard drive as Jennings went off left tackle for a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:15 to play in the third.
Jennings’ score was set up the previous play when his screen pass over the middle was completed to Travis King at the Bulldogs’ 47.
King found a seam and made it down to the 2 to complete the 73-yard pass-run play.
That would be it for the Bears, who were held to minus-15 yards rushing and 174 yards total offense on the night.
Gulf Coast added a 39-yard field goal with 8:38 left in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.
Despite the loss, Anthony said the Bears still have the possibility of putting together a long winning streak in the weeks to come.
“We showed we were a better football team than we were last week,” Anthony said.
“I feel like we should get better every week,” he added. “We can be a very good football team as long as we stay together.”
Gulf Coast got on the board first when Jenkins hit Bolden over the middle for a 50-yard touchdown pass.
The toss from Jenkins was tipped in the air by Southwest cornerback J.D. Ratliff before also being juggled by Bolden, who reeled it in at the Bears’ 32-yard line and streaked to the end zone to make it 7-0 with 8:34 remaining in the opening period.
After the Bears failed to gain a first down on their ensuing drive, Southwest was given another opportunity when defensive back Darius Buck picked up a Gulf Coast fumble and returned it to the Southwest 46.
The Bears’ next drive was kept alive when, on third-and-9, Jennings stepped up in the pocket and found Donovan Belle for a 20-yard completion to the Gulf Coast 33.
Six plays later, Brandon Thomas got Southwest on the board with a 32-yard field goal to cut the margin to 7-3 with 1:48 remaining in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Gulf Coast went on a 9-play, 54-yard drive capped when Jenkins and Bolden again hooked up, this time on a 20-yard touchdown pass to push the Bulldogs’ lead to 14-3 with 1:58 before halftime.
For the Bears, Jennings completed 14-of-33 passes for 189 yards. He threw one interception.
Southwest will be in action next Thursday when the Bears travel to Co-Lin.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
