No. 15 MGCCC defeats Hinds 45-24 in season finale

PERKINSTON – The Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Bulldogs defeated the Hinds Community College Eagles 45-24 in both team's final game of the 2018 season this Saturday afternoon (Oct. 27).

The Bulldogs started the scoring with 10:31 left in the first quarter, when they ran one in the end zone from one-yard out capping off a nine play drive to take quick 7-0 lead.

The lead would be something the Bulldogs kept all afternoon as the Eagles had difficulty stringing together consecutive defensive stops and scoring drives.

The Eagles, however, would answer back as they did multiple times throughout the day when kicker Carson Flumm (Crystal Springs) connected on a 33-yard field goal making the score 7-3 with 8:02 left in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs responded by putting up 10 unanswered points on an eight-play touchdown drive finished with a four-yard touchdown pass, and a four-play drive that resulted in a 26-yard field goal. The scores gave MGCCC a 17-3 lead halfway through the second quarter.

Things looked bleak for Hinds as the offense struggled to get things going on their ensuing drive and were forced to punt yet again. However, the Eagles temperament soon changed when linebacker Orlando Brown (Gulfport) intercepted a slant pass from the Bulldog quarterback and returned it 43-yards for a touchdown cutting the deficit to 10-17 with 7:09 left in the second quarter.

Still, MGCCC continued to apply the pressure and answered back with a seven-play, 75-yard drive finished off with a five-yard touchdown run to increase their lead to two touchdowns yet again. They took that 24-10 lead into half-time.
The third quarter was a defensive stale mate as neither team put points on the board.

The Eagles would regain some momentum at the start of the fourth quarter when the offense put together a nine-play, 71-yard drive that quarterback Tylan Morton (Griffin, Ga.) finished himself with a 17-yard touchdown run.

Once again, however, the Bulldogs countered on the subsequent drive reaching the end zone in under a minute on the back of a 61-yard touchdown run. The long run gave them a 31-17 lead with 12:46 remaining in the game.

As they have done all year the Eagles fought back, and as he has done all year, running back Don Ragsdale (Pisgah) found the end zone. Ragsdale scored his 12^th rushing touchdown of the year on a 31-yard touchdown run which brought the Eagles back to within just seven points.

Down just one touchdown, the Eagles defense did its job when safety Kyree Field (Columbus) intercepted the Bulldog pass give the Eagles the ball on their own 14-yard line with 7:02 left in the game. The offense was able to pick up one first down before facing a 4^th and short on their own 31 yard lie with just four minutes left.
The Eagles attempted a fake punt, which has been a play that has had a 100% success rate for Hinds prior to this game. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were able to snuff it out and keep Hinds from getting the first down which gave them great field position.

The Bulldogs capitalized by connecting on 16-yard touchdown pass which came on third down and long.  That touchdown gave MGCCC 38-24 lead with under three minutes left.

The following kick return was then fumbled by the Eagles and recovered by the Bulldogs which ultimately sealed the victory for MGCCC as Hinds had only one timeout left to use with just 1:30 remaining in the game.

Rather than run the clock out, the Bulldogs opted to run some more plays which resulted in the final scoring play of the game, a one-yard touchdown run with :58 seconds left. The final touchdown run gave the Bulldogs a 45-24 victory and improved MGCCC's record to (7-2, 4-2).

The loss moved the Eagles final record for the 2018 season to (4-5, 2-4).

Although, it was not the result the Eagles had hoped for this season, there is great optimism leading into the 2019 season as Hinds will return most of their starters on both offense and defense.