Hinds throttles East Miss. in tuneup
Published 12:00 am Friday, October 31, 2003
[10/31/03] RAYMOND In a final tuneup before the playoffs next week, Hinds Community College (8-1) rode a dominant passing attack to defeat East Mississippi 34-17 on Thursday night.
Quarterback Terrance Matthews led the way for the Eagles, finishing 19-of-27 passing for 232 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for a score.
Tenth-ranked Hinds scored 24 points in the second quarter to take a 27-3 lead into halftime.
“We’re looking pretty good right now,” said former Warren Central standout receiver Carlton Bradford. “We’ve just got to keep it up and take it into the playoffs.”
In the second half, EMCC gained 216 total yards with two touchdowns, while holding Hinds to one TD. Despite the win, Hinds coach J. Mike Smith was disappointed with his team’s play after the half.
“I was a little bit disappointed in the second half, especially going into the first round of the playoffs,” Smith said. “Maybe I’m hard to please, but I just didn’t like the second half at all.”
Smith was especially critical of the run defense, which allowed 126 yards on 26 carries in the second half.
“They crammed it down our throat a couple times and we haven’t really had that happen this year,” Smith said.
Hinds began the game with a 37-yard field goal by Carter Mascagni on the opening drive, but EMCC responded with a 52-yard field goal by Will Mosley to tie the game.
Greg Clark’s 14-yard touchdown run 2 minutes into the second quarter capped off a seven-play, 63-yard drive for the Eagles. Clark finished with 41 yards on seven carries.
And on the first play after the kickoff, Hinds’ Domenick Kelly intercepted a tipped pass to set up the Eagles in Lion territory.
Dewan Ashford made it count when he rumbled in from four yards to give Hinds a 17-3 advantage.
A corner blitz on Lions’ quarterback Daniel Spinks by former Vicksburg High standout D’Eldrick Taylor caused a fumble on EMCC’s next possession. Greg Peterson picked up the ball and returned it 26 yards to the Lions’ 14-yard line.
After a 1-yard run by Ashford and a 12-yard pass to Ex-VHS star Chris Humes, Matthews sneaked into the end zone from a yard out to give Hinds a 24-3 lead.
Mascagni later connected on a 37-yard field goal with 29 seconds remaining for the 24-point halftime lead.
“Offensively, we’ve come along and improved a whole bunch,” Smith said.
Matthews finished the first half with 156 yards on 15-of-23 passing, and he spread the ball to nine different receivers, making it difficult for the defense to key in on one player.
“We just ran our routes, and we read the coverage real good,” said Bradford, who caught two passes for 24 yards in the first half.
EMCC opened the third quarter with a powerful ground attack that marched 77 yards downfield and ended with a 15-yard touchdown by John Henderson. Henderson ended with 148 yards rushing.
Hinds answered right back with a long drive of their own. The Eagles spanned 80 yards and reached the end zone when Matthews found Oge Oge on a 21-yard pass for a 34-10 lead.
Another long drive by EMCC ended on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Spinks to Chris Maddox.
EMCC outscored Hinds 14-7 in the second half.