RAYMOND — They went for the band first.
As soon as Hinds Community College’s postgame huddle broke up, the players headed over to the corner of the stands, raising their arms and their voices in exultation. They faced the musicians who could not stop playing and the fans who would not stop cheering. One player gleefully squirted water into the air.
Even at night, it was as clear as day: East Mississippi Community College doesn’t lose often, but when it does, it is cause for celebration for anyone and everyone else.
Hinds got to do the celebrating Thursday, opening the season with a 24-16 home win over top-ranked EMCC. The victory snapped the Lions’ win streak of 17 games and 686 days.
The Eagles scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to erase a 16-10 EMCC lead. Don Ragsdale leapt into the end zone four seconds into the period to put Hinds on top 17-16, and EMCC never mounted another threat.
EMCC quarterback Connor Neville, a transfer from Washington State, threw a costly interception in Hinds territory with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter. And with just more than two and a half minutes left with EMCC at the Hinds 26, Neville was picked off again — his third interception of the ballgame. Hinds’ DeMario Nichols made a couple men miss and ran the ball back for a touchdown that all but sealed the game.
It was the final blow in a game where, EMCC coach Buddy Stephens said, the Lions continually shot themselves in the foot.
Running back Keon Moore fumbled four times, and EMCC was fortunate to recover three of those fumbles. That one lost fumble, though, came when Moore took a handoff from the Hinds 18 down near the goal line late in the second quarter with EMCC up 13-10. Moore made it to the end zone, but he lost the ball before crossing it. Hinds recovered and ran out the clock on the half, denying EMCC the chance to add precious points to a slim lead.
“We can’t fumble going into the end zone,” Stephens said. “That was an extra-effort play, and he was just trying to get across the end zone. Those things happen.”
The Lions again looked poised to pull away in the third quarter when defensive lineman Terence Cherry delivered a crushing hit to Hinds quarterback Elijah Walker, knocking the ball around 20 yards downfield. EMCC’s Deuntra Hyman fell on it, and the momentum for the drive continued when Neville found Pervis Frazier to convert a 4th-and-11 play.
But a penalty on third down stalled the drive, and the Lions settled for a 27-yard field goal from Josh Smith. It didn’t take long for Hinds to retake the lead.
The Eagles got the ball with five minutes remaining in the third period, and they kept it on the ground. After a run and three straight passes, Ragsdale got the ball eight straight times, and he dived into the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter.
EMCC’s fourth-quarter drives looking to retake the lead showed little of the offensive talent the team possesses. The Lions looked listless on offense, alternating punts and crippling interceptions before turning the ball over on downs with 48 seconds left.
“We never could put a drive together,” Stephens said.
It resulted in just the Lions’ sixth loss since 2011, and this time, the loss came at the hands of one of Stephens’ assistant coaches.
Larry Williams, now Hinds’ head coach, was EMCC’s linebackers coach in 2010, and Stephens credited the job done by Williams’ staff.
“Hinds came out ready to play,” Stephens said. “He did a great job of getting his guys prepared.”
While EMCC outgained Hinds 340 yards to 139, the Eagles never looked outmatched against the Lions’ talent or their reputation. They never trailed by more than six points, they stayed mostly free of the crucial mistakes the Lions made, and they always seemed to have an answer.
“They were very excited,” Stephens said. “They came out and executed.”
That execution under pressure proved to be the difference.
It’s why EMCC rode the bus back to Scooba in an unfamiliar position, though Stephens knows this is by no means a season-ending loss.
“They’re a good football team, but I think we are too,” Stephens said. “We’ve got to go back, and we’ve got to start working on Monday.”
It’s also how Hinds wound up on the sideline. celebrating a win over the two-time defending champions. A victory that snapped a win streak of nearly two years. A victory that sure felt good.
“They’re having a great time,” Stephens said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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