Mack Cochran named to MACJC Sports Hall of Fame

POPLARVILLE – Former Pearl River Community College football great Mack Cochran was inducted into the Mississippi Community and Junior College Sports Hall of Fame during ceremonies Tuesday (April 24) in Jackson. Cochran, who lives in Clara, was one of 15 inductees into the class. As football players at PRCC go, Cochran may have been the most celebrated. He not only quarterbacked the 1961 state and national champion Wildcats, a team that finished 10-0 and outscored its opponents 446-47, he was named to the All-State team and the All-American team. Cochran led the East team to a 20-8 victory over the West in the Junior College All-Star football game in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He passed for two touchdowns and an extra point and was named the game MVP. Cochran coach at PRCC was the legendary Dobie Holden. Cochran played Hattiesburg High School from 1958-60. He signed a scholarship with the University of Southern Mississippi, but stood only 5-foot-9 and weighed 145 pounds. USM coach Pie Vann suggested Cochran go to Pearl River to get some more experience. As a freshman at PRCC, Cochran threw 12 touchdown passes as a backup. The Wildcats were 9-1, state co-champions with Northwest, and beat San Angelo, Texas 50-20 in the Hospitality Bowl. As a sophomore, Cochran tallied 24 touchdowns, completing 89 of 151 passes. He would have thrown for more, but in most games that year, the Wildcats got so far ahead by halftime, Coach Holden would play his reserves. They won games by margins of 60-6 over Gulf Coast, 70-0 over Northwest, 42-0 over Jones and 52-6 over Co-Lin. Cochran went on to play at the University of Houston, where they moved him from quarterback to halfback. He later went to work for Amoco Oil and currently works at a nursery in Clara. He is the ninth former PRCC player to be inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the PRCC Sports Hall of Fame.