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RAYMOND - The Hinds Community College Eagle football team shined on all sides of the ball Thursday evening when they downed East Central 52-14 on homecoming.

Leading the charge was the Eagle rushing attack, eclipsing over 400 yards on the ground.

"Our guys came ready to play," head coach Larry Williams said. "400 yards is a lot of yards, and I'm glad we had such a successful night on the ground."

Not to be outdone, the Eagle defense continued to dominate by forcing four turnovers, one interception and three fumbles. 

"We preach that, if we turnover the ball and limit big plays, we will be good," defensive coordinator John Hendrick said. "Our defense played the game they are capable of playing."

The Eagles won the toss and deferred to the second half. On the opening kickoff, Tyrese Wolf (Vicksburg) recovered the fumble to put the Eagle offense in the redzone. Two plays later, Jeffrey Pittman (Taylorsville) punched it in from five yards out. The point after by Ben Duncan (Florence) was good, leaving the score at 7-0.

On the ensuing possession, East Central cashed in on their first play from scrimmage, a 77-yard strick through the air from Gabriel Larry to Corey Goldwire. The extra point was good, and the game was tied.

The next possession, the Eagle offense drove to the East Central 21-yard line. But, BeSean McCray (Orlando, Fla.) fumbled the ball and the Warriors returned it to the Eagle 23-yard line. Needing to come up big, the Eagle defense forced several tackles for loss which led to a Warrior punt. Coming up big on the sack to force the punt were Da'Vonta Jackson (Greensboro, Ala.) and Isaac Lee (Petal).

After a 69-yard run by Jeffrey Pittman, the Eagle offensive drive stalled. Ben Duncan's 34-yard field goal was blocked, leaving the score at 7-7 at the 6:41 mark in the first quarter.

The Eagle defense forced yet another punt. On the next possession, the Eagle offense found the end zone on a 58-yard scamper by BeSean McCray. The extra point by Duncan was good, leaving the score at 14-7 in favor of Hinds.

The Warriors were forced to punt on the next possession. The Eagle offense then went five plays for 58 yards and scored on a Jeffrey Pittman two-yard run. The score was 21-7 Hinds after the Houston Smith (Flowood) point after. This score opened up the second quarter of play.

Staying true to form, the Eagle defense forced yet another Warrior punt. Isaac Lee recorded the sack to end the drive. The Eagle offense stalled on their ensuing possession, giving the ball back to East Central.

Sophomore defensive back Artavious Washington (Lexington) came up big for the Eagle defensive unit by recovering a Warrior fumble. The Eagles weren't able to cash in on the turnover after the were forced to go three and out.

Another big stop was made by the Eagles by stopping the Warriors on fourth down on the next possession. This stop set led to a Ben Duncan 23-yard field goal to push the lead to 24-7 at the half.

The Eagle offense continued to dominate on the ground and found the end zone on a Jeffrey Pittman 20-yard run. Sophomore running back Robert Jackson III (Lexington) set the pace on the scoring drive with two runs of 10 and 15 yards. After the made PAT from Ben Duncan, the score was 31-7 in favor of the Eagles.

"We came out with a mindset to run the ball," offensive coordinator Kelly Murphy said. "Our offensive line stepped up big this evening. It's always good to have a game where we impose our will up front."

CJ Johnson (Greenwood) burst onto the scene and recorded his first interception of the season on the next Warrior possession. This turnover led to another Eagle score, this one coming from Cedric Phillips (Vicksburg) from six-yards out. The PAT by Smith was good, leaving the score at 38-7.

Special Teams, having great success this season, was able to force another turnover on the ensuing kickoff. Treyvon Gibson (Benoit) was the one that fell on the loose ball. But, the offensive drive stalled after a missed 32-yard field goal by Duncan.

Both teams traded punts on the next two possessions, giving the ball back to East Central. 

The Warrior drive was stopped on fourth down when CJ Johnson broke up the Larry pass, giving the ball back to the Eagles at their own 16-yard line.

Hinds ran one play as time expired in the third quarter. After three quarters, the Eagles were up 38-7.

Ranson Oakes (Raymond), on the next Eagle possession, connected with Kyziah Pruitt (Macon) from 84 yards out. The extra point by Duncan made the score 45-7.

The Eagle defense forced another fumble on the next Warrior possession. This time, Malik Banks (Yazoo City) came up with the ball to give the Eagles prime field possesion with 11:48 left in the game.

Hinds then scored their final touchdown of the game on a 15-yard run by Jamarian Samuels (Ocala, Fla.). This was the second week in the row that the Eagle offense scored at least 50 points on offense.

"Tonight we played intense and put on a show for the crowd," quarterback coach Omarr Conner said. "We stuck to the game plan, and it worked out for us."

With 1:20 left in the contest, the Warriors grabbed their second touchdown of the game on a Larry pass to Noah Tice, which made the score 52-14 after the PAT by Jaren Van Winkle.

Time expired and the Eagles grabbed their fourth division win of the season over the Warriors.

Other top performers:
Jeffrey Pittman: 11 carries for 142 yards, 3 touchdowns, long of 69, 12.9 yards per carry
BeSean McCray: 8 carries for 70 yards, 1 touchdown, long of 58, 8.8 yards per carry
Ranson Oakes: 2 completions for 91 yards, 1 touchdown, 84 yard long
Kyziah Pruitt: 2 receptions for 87 yards, 1 touchdown, 84 yard long
Isaac Lee: 5 total tackles, 4 unassisted, 1 assisted, 1.5 sacks. 2.5 tackles for loss

Up next for the Eagles is the final game of the regular season on the road at Pearl River Community College on Thursday, October 28. The game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. in Poplarville.
 
Fans will be able to watch Hinds football games live here: https://hindsccsports.net/channel-1/
 
You can also follow @HindsCC_FB for live in-game updates.