RAYMOND, Miss. – The Hinds Community College football team celebrated Sophomore Night in style Thursday night, rolling past East Central Community College, 52-28, at Gene Murphy Field at Joe Renfroe Stadium.
The Eagles jumped out to a 21-0 lead after the opening quarter and never relinquished control, improving to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play. Hinds finished the night with 494 yards of total offense, including 303 passing yards and 191 rushing yards, while converting 8-of-12 third-down opportunities.
Quarterback
Jaylon Ruffin turned in another outstanding performance, completing 27-of-33 passes for 303 yards and four touchdowns while adding 82 rushing yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.
Hinds opened the scoring with 9:15 remaining in the first quarter when Ruffin connected with
Demar Gardner on an 18-yard touchdown pass to cap an 11-play, 81-yard drive.
The Eagles added to their lead less than three minutes later after
Brandon Brooks intercepted an East Central pass, setting Hinds up at the Warriors' 18-yard line. Ruffin quickly capitalized, finding
De'traun Brown for a 19-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
Hinds closed the opening quarter with another long scoring drive, going 85 yards on 10 plays. Ruffin found
Christian Hubbard for a 22-yard touchdown with 56 seconds remaining to give the Eagles a 21-0 advantage.
East Central answered with a touchdown early in the second quarter, but Hinds responded with a 12-play, 82-yard drive that ended with Ruffin scoring on a 12-yard rushing touchdown.
After another East Central interception, this time by
Jeremiah Nave, Hinds needed just three plays to reach the end zone. Ruffin found Gardner for a 20-yard touchdown pass with 4:10 remaining in the half, giving the Eagles a 35-7 lead.
East Central added a touchdown late in the half, but Hinds carried a 35-14 advantage into halftime.
The Eagles continued their offensive production to open the second half. Hinds marched 65 yards on seven plays, with Ruffin finding the end zone from four yards out to push the lead to 42-14.
East Central responded with a touchdown, but Hinds answered immediately in the form of
Anthony Loftin, who returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. Loftin's return restored Hinds' 28-point advantage at 49-21.
The Warriors scored again late in the third quarter, but the Hinds defense held East Central scoreless in the fourth quarter. Braylen Spann capped the scoring with a 24-yard field goal with 7:05 remaining, completing a 16-play, 65-yard drive and making the final score 52-28.
Gardner led the Eagles with five receptions for 50 yards and two touchdowns.
Kiandre Terry added four catches for 54 yards, while Brown hauled in two passes for 51 yards and a touchdown. Hubbard finished with three receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown.
Kelton Young caught six passes for 36 yards, while
DJ Miller recorded three receptions for 31 yards.
Anthony Loftin added one catch for 15 yards.
On the ground, Ruffin led Hinds with 82 yards and two touchdowns.
CJ Martin rushed four times for 19 yards, while
DJ Miller added 14 yards on four carries.
Malik Montgomery finished with 11 yards on two carries.
Defensively,
Shiloh Johnson-Hewitt led the Eagles with seven total tackles, while
Narco Dunn recorded four.
Jordan Randle added four tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Andre Jackson Jr. finished with three tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks.
Brandon Brooks and
Jeremiah Nave each recorded an interception for the Hinds defense. The Eagles finished with two sacks and six tackles for loss.
The Eagles also received a strong special teams' performance. Loftin's 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown provided a major momentum swing in the third quarter, while Spann finished 7-for-7 on extra points and added the 24-yard field goal.
Hinds finished the night with 29 first downs and held the ball for 32:57. The Eagles' 494 total yards came on 73 offensive plays, compared to 367 yards on 56 plays for East Central.
With the victory, Hinds moves to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
Hinds will return to action on October 1st against Mississippi Delta CC in Moorhead. Kickoff is set for 7 PM.
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