Mississippi Gulf Coast played it safe and won big Thursday night against Hinds Community College.

Gulf Coast recorded three safeties and scored 26 straight points in the second and third quarters to roll to a 40-23 victory over the Eagles.

Jason Smith threw three touchdown passes for Gulf Coast (4-0, 1-0 MACJC South), which entered the game ranked No. 4 in the country.

Hinds, though, seemed to be its own worst enemy.

The Eagles gave up an early safety on a bad punt snap through the end zone, then another in the third quarter when running back Joshua Dixon was tackled in the end zone.

The final safety came when quarterback James Summers bobbled a snap and fell on it in the end zone, putting Gulf Coast ahead 33-10 with 7:01 left in the game.

In addition to the safeties, Gulf Coast got a touchdown following a partially blocked punt, and another on a fourth-and-6 pass from Smith to Tyrone Williams.

Hinds (2-2, 1-1) scored two touchdowns in the final seven minutes, but it wasn’t enough to get back in the game.

Former Port Gibson star Tommy McCalpin scored on a 30-yard run for Hinds in the first half, and Summers threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

Hinds will host Northwest Mississippi next Thursday in the first of back-to-back home games. The Eagles host East Central on Oct. 2.