MACCC Roundup: Jones spoils Hinds’ comeback bid; Northwest knocks off East Mississippi in top 10 matchup
Published 3:20 pm Friday, September 30, 2022
RAYMOND — A huge comeback by Hinds Community College was spoiled in 33 seconds Thursday night.
Hinds came all the way back from a 24-point deficit in the second half, but Robert Henry scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:28 remaining to allow Jones College to escape with a 31-24 victory.
Henry finished with 131 rushing yards and three touchdowns for No. 5 Jones (5-0, 3-0 MACCC South). His final touchdown, a 17-yard run, came two plays after Jerry Johnson’s 34-yard punt return gave the Bobcats the ball at Hinds’ 24-yard line with 2:01 remaining.
Henry’s other two touchdowns came in the first quarter, when Jones was building a 24-0 lead.
Hinds (2-3, 2-1) started its comeback with a 9-yard TD pass from Ranson Oakes to Kaleb Mosley with 5:25 left in the third quarter. A safety and two touchdown runs by Jeffrey Pittman in the fourth quarter tied it at 24.
Pittman finished with 126 rushing yards and the two TDs on 24 carries. Oakes completed 12 of 26 passes for 76 yards and one touchdown.
“We need to work on making sure we play our best out of the gate,” Hinds head coach Larry Willams said. “We played how we are supposed to play in the second half, but we need to make sure we don’t dig ourselves a hole early.”
Hinds will go on the road next week to play Southwest Mississippi College, at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 6.
Southwest Mississippi 24, East Central 20
Drekevion Anderson scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 20-yard pass from Cameron Davis with 2:54 remaining, as Southwest Mississippi (2-3, 1-2 MACCC South) defeated East Central Community College (0-5, 0-2).
Davis finished 22-of-35 passing for 200 yards and two touchdowns as Southwest Mississippi overcame four turnovers and a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win.
Davis threw four interceptions, one of which was returned for a 56-yard touchdown by former Warren Central star Jaylin Thompson. Thompson finished with two interceptions and six total tackles. His brother T.J. Thompson led the Warriors with 11 tackles.
Another former Viking, Brandon Gilliam, kicked field goals of 29 and 38 yards for East Central and was 2-for-2 on PATs. He also averaged 44.0 yards on four punts.
Four of East Central’s five losses have been by a total of 16 points.
Northwest Mississippi 38, East Mississippi 21
Ren Helfey threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns, Jamarien Bracey ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries, and No. 4 Northwest Mississippi beat No. 8 East Mississippi in a showdown of top 10 teams.
Northwest Mississippi (5-0, 2-0 MACCC North) amassed 301 rushing yards and 519 yards of total offense. In addition to Bracey’s rushing total, Cayden Betts ran for 102 yards.
Northwest scored 18 unanswered points in the second half. Betts had a 9-yard run late in the third quarter, and Bracey an 8-yard TD with 10 minutes left in the fourth. Eli Hamlin also kicked a 19-yard field goal.
Former Vicksburg High star Laurence Sullivan had a 58-yard interception return touchdown for East Mississippi (3-2, 1-1). Quarterback Eli Anderson was 19-for-26 passing for 173 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Pearl River 24, Mississippi Gulf Coast 14
Former Vicksburg High star Michael Montgomery had two tackles for loss during a goal line stand that helped preserve Pearl River Community College’s win over Mississippi Gulf Coast (2-3, 1-1 MACCC South).
Nick Milsap ran for 80 yards and a touchdown for Pearl River (3-2, 1-1). Justin Jefferson had nine tackles, and Bryan Whitehead II had a 67-yard fumble return touchdown.
Quarterback Pat McQuaide threw two touchdown passes for Gulf Coast, which lost three fumbles. The Bulldogs also had a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended on downs inside the 5-yard line thanks to Montgomery’s two big tackles.
Itawamba 55, Mississippi Delta 21
Red Parker completed 12 of 24 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns — two to Azaria Smith, who had six receptions for 153 yards — and Itawamba Community College (2-3, 2-1 MACCC North) had no trouble with Mississippi Delta.
Eric Watts ran for 168 yards and a touchdown for Itawamba, and Jamal Brooks had 40 yards and two TDs.
Reeheem Fairley caught two touchdown passes for Mississippi Delta 0-5, 0-3), which had scored 17 points total in its first four games.
Co-Lin 35, Coahoma 10
DeVon Tott threw two touchdown passes and ran for 96 yards and a score, as Copiah-Lincoln (3-2) scored 35 unanswered points to beat Coahoma Community College (3-2).
Co-Lin forced five turnovers, including a 68-yard interception return by Nate White for its final touchdown with 5:11 left in the third quarter. The Wolves fell behind 10-0 late in the first half, then scored five touchdowns in 10 minutes of game time spanning the second and third quarters.
Holmes 34, Northeast Mississippi 31
Nyjal Johnson and Philip Short combined for 329 passing yards and two touchdowns to lead Holmes Community College (3-2, 2-1 MACCC North) past Northeast Mississippi (2-3, 1-2).
Johnson’s 17-yard TD pass to Kerrick Ross with 6:59 left put Holmes ahead 34-24 and finally in control of the back-and-forth game.
Goldman Butler VI scored three rushing touchdowns for Northeast Mississippi, while Carter Putt was 37-of-54 passing for 379 yards and one touchdown. A.J. Davis IV caught 10 passes for 106 yards, and also scored on a 90-yard punt return.