Bulldogs "play it safe" in win over Hinds
PERKINSTON---Three safeties caused by the defense, countless penalties, and some big plays on offense all added up to a 40-23 win by fourth ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College over Hinds Thursday.
The win is the 10th straight by the Bulldogs over the Eagles dating back to 2005.
"It takes all three phases of the game…offense, defense, and special teams, to win a football game," said Gulf Coast head coach Chad Huff. "All three were huge tonight for us."
The Bulldog special teams unit chalked up the first of three safeties on the evening early in the first quarter as a bad snap by Hinds rolled into the end zone and was recovered by the Eagles. The Bulldogs extended the lead to 5-0 on the first of two field goals by Tristan Reynolds late in the first quarter.
Hinds (2-2, 1-1) then put up 10 unanswered points in the second quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Tommy McCalpin and a 30-yard field goal by Joseph Houston.
Gulf Coast (4-0, 2-0) responded to being behind for the first time this season with a 25-yard touchdown strike from Jason Smith to Tyrone Williams on a 4th-and-6 with 1:39 left before halftime and a 12-10 lead.
The Bulldogs would then continue a string of 26 unanswered points in the second half with the second safety of the contest. Three minutes into the third quarter, a Kevin Phillips punt was downed at the Hinds 1-yard line. On the next play, the Bulldog defense blew through and corralled Hinds running back Joshua Dixon in the end zone to up the lead to 14-10.
"The defense came up huge tonight," said Gulf Coast defensive lineman Barron Miller. "We put it on ourselves to stop them, and for the most part, we did. I've never been a game before where a team had three safeties."
Gulf Coast put up two more scores midway through the third quarter on a 31-yard TD pass from Smith to Williams, their seventh TD hook-up of 2014, and a 21-yard touchdown pass from Smith to running back Chris Robinson. A partially blocked punt by Robinson a few plays before on special teams help set up the score.
Reynolds added another field goal making it 31-10 before Hinds got back on the board with a touchdown pass by quarterback James Summers. The third safety of the night came with 7:01 left in the game as Summers bobbled a snap deep in his own territory and fell on it in the end zone.
An 8-yard TD run by Robinson and a late score by the Eagles put the final tally at 40-23.
"Once again we fought through some early adversity and came out strong in the second half," Huff added. "Our goal now is to fix our mistakes and work on cutting out all the penalties. I can't say enough about how great our effort was against a tough Hinds team."
Tyrone Williams hauls in a pass against Hinds. Williams scored two touchdowns in the 40-23 win.
