Hinds Football Defeats Warriors in South Division Opener

September 16, 2022

The East Central Community College Warriors and Hinds Eagles went toe-to-toe in Decatur on Thursday night, Sept. 15, with yet another back-and-forth battle for ECCC. The Eagles escaped Bailey Stadium with a 28-23 victory after the teams went to the locker rooms at the half tied at 7-all. With the loss, the Warriors moved to 0-3, 0-1 on the year, while the Eagles improved to 1-2, 1-0. 

Despite the scores, the first half was a defensive battle as the teams combined for seven punts. The Warriors posted 103 yards in the half, while the Eagles had 189. 

The Eagles were able to find the endzone on just their second drive of the night as they went 78 yards on six plays. The drive was sparked by a Jamarian Samuels 49-yard rush before Zailon Johnson punched it in from one yard out for the score. Ben Duncan knocked in the Eagles' point after to put Hinds on top 7-0 early in the first quarter. 

Late in the second quarter, the Warriors made a strong defensive stand deep in the Eagles' territory. Hinds attempted to punt from their own endzone, but a bobbled snap and quick reaction by the Warriors forced a turnover on downs at the Hinds'  four-yard line. 

A pair of rushes and an incompletion put the Warriors in a fourth-and-goal situation. ECCC faked the field goal with Damon Mapp (Decatur), the holder, taking it in from four yards out for the score. Brandon Gilliam (Vicksburg) hit the PAT to knot the game at 7-7 with just over four minutes until the half. 

The Warriors got the kickoff to start the second half, and quickly marched 58 yards on seven plays. The big play of the drive came from a Landon Sims (Evergreen, Ala.) Josh Sykes (Brandon) connection for 27 yards. Three plays later Sims ran an option and pitched to reigning MACC Special Teams Player of the Week Devontae Causey (Millry, Ala.) for a 14-yard scamper and score. The score put the Warriors in front 14-7. 

After a pair of punts, the Eagles tied the game again, with a quick 36-yard drive that came from a short Warrior punt. 

ECCC faked a punt on the ensuing possession but failed to reach the line to gain which set the Eagles up with a short field. The Eagles capitalized and took it 41 yards on eight straight rushing plays to grow the lead to 21-14 with just over three minutes remaining in the third. 

That lead grew to 28-14 as the Eagles scored on the first possession in the fourth quarter, but ECCC hit right back with a lengthy, 60-yard, 11-play drive. An 11-yard gain on a Sims pass to Preston Lynch (Vicksburg) and a pair of penalties helped push the Warriors deep into Eagles territory, but ECCC settled for a 25-yard Gilliam field goal to cut the lead to 28-17. 

Bailey Stadium erupted on the following Hinds possession as Mapp blocked a would-be Eagles punt and gave ECCC possession at the Eagles 24-yard line. Sims connected with Causey for 17 yards and Lynch for six before Causey ran it up the middle from one yard out for the score. The two-point try failed making it 28-23 with 6:51 remaining. Hinds took possession and ran the remaining time out to secure the win. 

ECCC finished the night with 222 yards of offense, 114 passing and 108 rushing. Hinds posted 403 yards on 136 passing and 267 rushing. 

Sims finished the night 12-of-24 in the air for 114 yards, while Causey and Courtland Harris (Hattiesburg) posted 44 and 42 rushing yards, respectively. Sims added 14. Harris led the ECCC receivers with 35 yards, while Causey posted 29. Sykes finished with 27, while Lynch had 24. 

Ruben Lee led Hinds with 136 passing yards a score and an interception, while Samuels racked up 183 yards on 29 touches and Zailon Johnson posted 66 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries. 

Noah Tice (Wiggins) and TJ Thompson (Bolton) led the Warrior defense with nine tackles each, while Jalyin Thompson and Tony Gibson (Church Point, La.) had seven. ECCC finished the night with one sack, from Devery Smith (Daphne, Ala.), and eight tackles for loss. 

The Warriors are on the road next Thursday, Sept. 22, as ECCC travels to Ellisville to take on the Jones College Bobcats at 7 p.m.

Scoring Summary