Tyler Henderson scored another 3 touchdowns last night for Mississippi Gulf Coast

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN)— Vicksburg native Tyler Henderson scored another three touchdowns last night for Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. In the 42-28 win over Pearl River Community College, Henderson caught a 9-yard touchdown, 50-yard touchdown, and a 6-yard touchdown all thrown by Landon Varnes. He finished the game with five catches and 124 yards.

The Bulldogs are 5-0 with the help of Henderson, and he currently has 564 receiving yards and six touchdowns. 

Henderson is a Vicksburg High School graduate.

Game recap from MGCCC Athletics:

Down eight midway through the third quarter against its archrival, No. 4 Mississippi Gulf Coast finally kicked things into gear.  The Bulldogs scored 29 straight points on the way to a 42-28 win over Pearl River at Dobie Holden Stadium.

Tyler Henderson (So., Vicksburg/Vicksburg) caught three straight touchdown passes to fuel the explosion, helping Landon Varnes (So., Brandon/Brandon) to another great statistical night. He completed 11-of-21 passes for 262 yards and four scores.

“We had some big throws to get it going,” Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright said. “We threw the ball a bit more and on early downs, which gave us a little bit more of a predictable look. We wanted to get the ball out of Landon’s hands quickly. We probably should have done that earlier.”

The Bulldogs improved to 5-0 overall and stayed unbeaten after three MACCC South games. They’re the only undefeated team in the conference.

Gulf Coast outgained PRCC 475-350 and was balanced with more than 200 yards rushing and passing.

After the Wildcats (1-4, 0-3) scored to go up 21-13, Mason Beverly caught a 55-yard bomb. Two plays later, Henderson caught a 9-yard touchdown, and Beverly added the two-point conversion to tie it up.

The Regulators got a three-and-out, and Royale Shelvy (Fr., Fayette/Jefferson County) had a punt return to midfield. The next play was Varnes-to-Henderson for a 50-yard score and a 28-21 lead.

Another three-and-out led to a more methodical Gulf Coast drive. Henderson’s 6-yard score capped a nine-play, 66-yard drive.

“He’s fast. He’s elusive,” Wright said. “He’s good before the ball hits his hands. He’s good after the ball hits his hands. He’s hard to cover one-on-one. He just continues to make big plays for us tonight and last week and a couple of other games we had to have him. He comes through in critical moments.”

Willie Breland (So., Wiggins/Stone) had an interception later that set up Connor Tice (Fr., Wiggins/Stone) for a 9-yard QB keeper for a 42-21 lead.

“We prepared for this the whole week,” Breland said. “We knew they were going to throw the ball when they needed it to convert. We slowed them down in the run game. I just dropped back and read the quarterback, and he threw to the man, but I was there.”

Henderson finished with five catches for 124 yards and the three scores. Alan Woods (Fr., Jacksonville Fla./University Christian) ran 22 times for 124 yards. 

Antwaan Mays (So., Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) had the other touchdown reception, and it came at a critical time. Pearl River had opened a 14-3 lead in the second quarter, and Mays struck on a second-and-long for a 44-yard strike.

“The cornerback was pressing, and I was telling Coach Wright the whole game they were pressing,” he said. “He gave me a shot, and I made the most of my opportunity.”

Jabari McWilliams (So., Picayune/Picayune) forced a fumble on the Wildcats’ ensuing play from scrimmage, and Breland recovered at the 14. Referees initially ruled the runner down, but the call was overturned by replay. That set up a 23-yard field goal by Aiden Guinn (Fr., Wiggins/Stone), his second of the game.

Taurean Davis (So., Quitman County/DeSoto Central) had 11 total tackles, and Kaleb Arterberry(Fr., Pearl/Pearl) and Jonathan Keys (So., Laurel/West Jones) had five tackles each.

“You don’t win big games if you just let the other offense execute, don’t disrupt what they’re doing, don’t get turnovers,” Wright said. “You can give up some yards here and there, but you’ve got to create some negative plays with them in order to win games.”

The MACCC has next week off, so the Bulldogs will take a three-day weekend to rest some bumps and bruises. They’ll be back in action Oct. 9 when East Central visits Perkinston.

“We’ve been on a short week, so they’ve earned it,” Wright said. “They’ve put in a lot of hard work over the last 12 days or so, especially, so they’ve earned some time off. We’re going to take a couple of days off as coaches, kind of collect our thoughts and come back Monday with a plan.”