Defensive stops and big special teams plays transformed East Mississippi Community College’s 7-6 first half lead into a narrow victory of the same score over visiting Hinds Community College Sept. 4 in Scooba for the team’s first win of the early season.
The Lions punted on their first drive and the foot of Wyatt Salter pinned the Eagles back on their own 1-yard line to start their drive, but it wasn’t enough to keep them from the end zone. Hinds, led by former Starkville coach Chris Jones, marched 99 yards down the field in nine plays and punched in a 10-yard run by quarterback and former Yellow Jacket Jaylon Ruffin for the game’s first score. But on the Eagles’ ensuing PAT try, Kindal Moorehead managed to get a hand on the ball as it sailed toward the uprights and forced the miss on the extra point to keep Hinds’ lead at 6-0.
The Lions wouldn’t get on the board until the second quarter, but they had chances to score in the first frame. From seven yards out, running back Gavin Griffin fell short of the pylon on two rushing attempts, and quarterback Rodge Waldrop’s pass on fourth-and-goal fell incomplete. The two teams traded punts to open the second quarter, and on the Lions’ second try on offense, Eric McGehee came in at quarterback for the Lions. He powered EMCC down the field on a six-play, 48-yard drive and scrambled for a 2-yard touchdown run to tie the game. Hayden Houpt’s PAT fell true to give the Lions a 7-6 lead it held until the very end – despite multiple scoring opportunities for Hinds in the second half.
The Eagles opened the third quarter with a long drive that ended with a fumble on fourth down in the red zone, and kicker Ryan Harvey missed from 36 yards in a try that could have pulled Hinds ahead. EMCC also misfired on its scoring opportunities in the third quarter. The Eagles forced and recovered a red zone fumble by McGehee and later intercepted one of his passes deep in Eagle territory. The Lions tried to pull ahead with 8:19 left to play with a 34-yard field goal, but Houpt’s kick couldn’t split the uprights. EMCC forced another turnover on downs and got the ball back and utilized the legs of running back Gavin Griffin to charge down the field, but a fumble by Griffin was recovered by the Eagles and gave Hinds the ball back with under two minutes left in the game.
Hinds went on an eight-play, 66-yard drive to give Harvey another try at pulling the Eagles ahead with a 35-yard field goal attempt. Davier Bishop managed to break through the line from the left side and get a hand on the kick to seal the lowest-scoring victory under head coach Buddy Stephens. The previous mark was the Lions’ 10-9 national championship win in 2018.
EMCC outgained Hinds in offensive yards 430-294 with Griffin generating 104 of those yards on 25 carries. Waldrop led the team with 91 passing yards on 10-of-19 passing, and McGehee was 5-of-9 for 38 yards. Noreel White had four catches for 45 yards, and Jathan Hatch led the defense with nine tackles (six solo). Jordan Berry had the team’s lone sack for a loss of 13 yards.
MACCC showdown
Up next for the Lions (1-1) is a home contest today at 7 p.m. against No. 3 Northwest Mississippi Community College, which comes into the game undefeated at 2-0 on the season.
The reigning MACCC champions opened the season with a 42-17 win over Pearl River and took down East Central 29-10. The Lions will be tasked with slowing down an offense that produced 319 yards and three scores on the ground last week and 366 rushing yards and five scores to open the season. The Rangers bring a stalwart rushing defense as well, holding both Pearl River and East Central to negative yards on the ground (-5 and -29).
Today’s game looks to heavily feature the ground game. The Rangers have run the ball 113 times against just 26 passes. Julius Pope is Northwest’s leading rusher with 226 yards on 37 carries for three touchdowns, and Aidan Glover is second with 206 yards on 16 totes for four scores. EMCC, which owns a 15-12 record over Northwest since 2000, relies on running the ball but has a more balanced offense. The Lions have run the ball 74 times this season for 323 yards and three touchdowns, and have thrown 64 passes for 369 yards and one score.
Last year, Northwest defeated EMCC 33-14 in Senatobia to snap a two-game losing streak to the Lions.
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