‘Very close.’ MGCCC vs. Hinds comes down to touchdown pass in the last 14 seconds
They say it’s not over until it’s over.
That was the case on Thursday night between Hinds and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
Hinds was down by as many as 28 points but would rally and score with 14 seconds left on a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback BeSean McCray to Tabashi Thomas to lift the Eagles over the fifth-ranked Bulldogs 42-37 at Joe Renfroe Stadium and Gene Murphy Field.
“We were success all game with Tabashi, so I knew I wanted to throw it high and away and he made the play. We practiced it all week,” McCray said. “I knew I couldn’t take a sack or make a mistake and try to throw towards the sideline. This is a big win for us and got to keep the momentum going.”
The first quarter couldn’t have started any better for Gulf Coast as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 24-0 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 31-3 with 13 minutes left in the second quarter on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Philip Short to K.T. Hicks.
Hinds got two rushing touchdowns from Cedric Phillips and Jeffrey Pittman and a 44-yard touchdown pass from McCray to Thomas to cut the Bulldog lead to 31-23 at halftime.
Pittman had a 1-yard touchdown run with 9:35 left in the third quarter to cut the MGCCC lead to 31-29. On the Eagles ensuing drive Pittman scampered 67 yards to the end zone to give Hinds a 36-31 lead with 7:51 left in the third quarter. Pittman finished with 133 yards rushing on 11 carries.
MGCCC got a 30-yard field goal with 52 seconds left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 36-34.
Wasson’s 27-yard field goal gave the Bulldogs a 37-36 lead with 6:12 left in the fourth quarter.
After both teams traded punts, Hinds got the ball at their own 31-yard line with 1:07 left.
McCray hit Kyziah Pruitt on a 19-yard pass on first down to the 50-yard line. After a spike and a run play for no yards McCray hit Thomas on a 35-yard pass play down the far sideline to the Bulldog 15-yard line. Two plays later McCray found Thomas in the back corner of the end zone for the go ahead score.
“I felt in my heart if we can get a stop and pin them deep we were going to make a play,” said Hinds coach Larry Williams. “We got down early, but the kids kept fighting and we got back in the ball game and got back in it. BeSean is just a winner and he finds ways to win and is just a leader for this team.”
McCray finished the night 17-of-32 for 300 yards with two touchdowns. Thomas had five catches for 150 yards with the touchdown.
Philip Short had 179 yards passing with two touchdowns to lead Gulf Coast offensively. Cam Thomas had 164 yards rushing for the Bulldogs.
“Very close and competitive game and we knew it was going to be like that,” said Gulf Coast head coach Jack Wright. “We started out hot, but we couldn’t finish the deal. The effort was unreal, but tonight was there night and they came away with the win.”
Both teams continue MACCC South Division play next week as Gulf Coast (3-1, 1-1) travels to Copiah-Lincoln and Hinds (3-1, 1-0) travels to Jones College.