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MGCCC Bulldogs
Officially, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Butler County Community College (KS) are 2007 NJCAA Co-National Champions. Considering that it looked like the undefeated 12-0 Bulldogs would be left out of the top spot, that result is just fine with Gulf Coast head coach Steve Campbell. “We’re overjoyed,” said Campbell. “Th is group of kids deserves some type of national title, so I’m glad the NJCAA decided to make us co-champs with Butler. Both teams earned the right to be at the top. Of course, it would’ve been nice to have an outright champion, and we’d love to play Butler to settle this, but that’s not the way this particular system works.” The national title is the fourth in the history of Gulf Coast football. The Bulldogs also won national titles in 1948, 1971, and 1984. According to the NJCAA, the last time the NJCAA football title was split was in 1960 when Tyler Junior College (Texas) and Cameron State College (Okla.) were named Co-National Champions. Butler capped off its 12-0 season on Dec. 1, 2007 when they defeated previous No.1 Snow College (Utah) 56-27 in the Zions Bank Top of the Mountain Bowl in Salt Lake City, Utah. The 2007 season also marked Butler’s seventh consecutive Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference title when they defeated Ft. Scott Community College 35-22 on Nov. 11. The 2007
national title is the fifth for the Grizzly football program,
which claimed the national title in 1981, 98, 99 and 03. Gulf
Coast also ended the season with a 12-0 record after they
pounded then 15th-ranked Kilgore College (Texas) 62-28 in the
C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl on Dec. 1 in Copperas Cove, TX.
The Bulldogs also won their first Mississippi Association of
Community & Junior Colleges title since 1986 when they defeated
Jones County Junior College (Miss.) 20-17 back on Nov. 10 In 2007, Gulf Coast played and defeated ranked teams six times, including a Sept. 13 win over Pearl River, two wins over Northwest on Oct. 11 and Nov. 3, and two wins over Jones on Oct. 20 and Nov. 10. Both wins over Jones occurred when the Bobcats were a top 10 team. In comparison, Butler played and defeated ranked teams five times in 2007, including its bowl victory over Snow Dec. 1. For Steve Campbell, the good news wraps up his first-ever perfect season as a head coach, and the national title is the second in his career. In 2000, he led Delta State to the NCAA Division II National Championship. “It’s a great feeling,” Campbell said. “Everyone here should be proud; from the coaches, to the players, to the fans, and the people of South Mississippi. This season, our motto all along has been to ‘finish.’ We kept telling the kids, if we finish each play of each game, things will work out. It’s a great group of guys. We have outstanding leadership from some great sophomores. We had some freshmen come in and gel together with them to form a very unselfish group.” The 2007 Bulldogs also set several college records. Gulf Coast outscored its opponents 440-167, with the 440 total being the most in college history. The 2007 sophomore class went 19-2, which is the best winning percentage for a class since 1986. That class also never lost a home game, going a perfect 11-0 at A.L. May Memorial Stadium, and it finished ranked in the NJCAA top ten twice.
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The NJCAA also announced its 2007 All-American squad, with three Gulf Coast players, Terrance Cody, Sean Brauchle, and Tremaine Brock earning First-Team honors. Six-foot-five, 385 pound defensive lineman Terrance Cody was also a JC Grid-Wire.com First-Team All-American, and the MACJC South Division Most Valuable Player. Cody anchored the Bulldog defense that ranked number one in the state in rushing defense and total defense. Brauchle, a freshman kicker from Biloxi, is a JC Grid-Wire. com First Team All American, and he was selected MACJC Special Teams Player of the Week twice in 2007, along with earning MACJC All-State honors. He also booted three field goals of over 50 yards, including a college record-tying 52-yarder against Northwest Oct. 11, and went 19 of 25 from the field and scored 89 points. Brock, a defensive back from Gautier, intercepted seven passes in 2007, and was named MACJC Defensive Player of The Week en route to earning JC Grid-Wire.com third-team All-American honors.
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