Friday, October 1, 2004
Wildcats hang on to dump Eagles 37-30 in division battle of the unbeatens
Defending state champs led 34-14 at half, but thwarts 
Hinds’ second-half comeback to remain undefeated at 5-0

     RAYMOND — Defending state champ Pearl River survived a gallant second-half comeback by Hinds to take a hard-fought 37-30 MACJC South Division victory here Thursday in Joe Renfro Stadium.
     The fifth-ranked Wildcats blew it open in the first half building a 21-0 lead in the first period, only to see the Eagles battle back from a 34-14 halftime deficit. Pearl River improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in division play, while Hinds dropped to 4-1 and 3-1.
The Wildcats capitalized on five Eagle turnovers in the contest, including three interceptions by sophomore corner Levance Richmond of Lake Wales, Fla., who now has a league-high five on the season.
     “It was a wild one,” said third-year PRCC head coach Tim Hatten. “We beat the 
hell out of them in the first half, they beat the hell out of us in the second. We’re just glad to pick up a win. It was a classic football game between to great football teams.
“Maybe we hit cruise control a little too early and got away from what got up ahead 21-0 at one point. Once we laid back a bit, we couldn’t seem to get things started up again.”
     Pearl River methodically marched 72 yards in 10 plays on the game’s opening series to take the lead when quarterback Jimmy Oliver of East Marion hit wide receiver Sam Thomas of Oak Grove with a 33-yard scoring pass with 11:12 left in the first period. Chris St. John of Oak Grove booted the extra point to make it 7-0.
     Hinds answered with a 56-yard, nine-play drive to the Wildcat 32, but linebacker Glentrelle Ware of Monroe, La., burst through the line to block his first of two Kyle Platt field goals on the night, this time a 50-yarder to keep the Eagles off the scoreboard.
     Two series later, Richmond grabbed his first pick of the night at the Hinds 17, setting the stage for Oliver’s TD pass to James Hollingsworth of Hattiesburg High one snap later. St. John’s PAT made 14-0 with 5:46 left in the opening period.
     After the Eagles went three-and-out, preseason All-American Larry Brackins of Dothan, Ala., ran back Platt’s 36-yard punt to the end zone for a 48-yard score just over a minute later. St. John’s PAT made it 21-0.
     Hinds got on the scoreboard in the final seconds of the first when quarterback Keats Baldwin hit receiver LeKeldrick Bridges on a fourth-and-six at the Wildcat 38 with a scoring toss, capping a 10-play drive that started at the Eagle 27. Hinds benefitted from a roughing the punter penalty four plays into the series when Platt tucked the ball and ran to the right hash, but quickly booted as linebacker Lawrence Atkinson of Raymond pile drived him to the turf.
     Platt booted the extra point to make it 21-7 with 21 seconds left in the first.
Pearl River answered with a seven-play, 86-yard scoring drive when Oliver hit Brackins with a 50-yard pass. St. John’s PAT made it 28-7 with 12:50 left in the half.
     Two plays into Hinds’ ensuring possession, Richmond hauled in his second interception at his own 41, but Hinds held the Wildcats on downs on a fourth-and-six at the Eagle 41 five snaps later. Baldwin targeted wide receiver Chris Johnson twice over the next five plays for 21 and 31 yards, respectively, with the latter being for the score with 7:39 left in the half. Platt’s extra point cut PRCC lead to 28-14.
     Pearl River followed with a three-and-out, but two plays in to Hinds ensuing possession Baldwin fumbled Wildcat James Carter of Sandy Hook recovered at the Eagle 46. Oliver then hit Brackins for a 25-yarder to the 19, then three plays later zipped a five-yard scoring pass Josh Barnes of Hattiesburg High to pad the Wildcats’ lead. The two-point conversion try failed, but PRCC led 34-14 with 4:06 left in the half.
     Ware blocked his second field goal of the night seven plays into Hinds’ ensuing drive to kill a 41-yard drive by the Eagles at the Hinds 16 with 2:31 left in the half. Four plays later, St. John punted it away. Hinds final possession of the half saw Richmond intercept his third pass of the night — a Hail Mary from Baldwin near the goal line — and returned it 50 yards to midfield as the halftime gun sounded.
     Pearl River drove to midfield on its first possession of the second half, but St. John punted on a fourth-and-23 only to see Hinds’ returner fumble and Wildcat Nick Golden of Hattiesburg High recover at the Eagle nine. Four plays later, St. John booted a 22-yard field goal to end the Wildcats’ scoring with 7:33 left in the third.
     Hinds bounced back with 15 unanswered points, starting with Greg Clark’s eight-yard run to cap a six-play, 69-yard drive with 5:42 left in the third. Platt’s PAT made it 37-22. Pearl River cornerback Julian McGowan of Prentiss intercepted 
Baldwin on the first play of the drive, but a Wildcat penalty nullified his effort. Baldwin also converted a third-and-five at midfield with a 39-yard compeltion to Jabary Gibson.
     Hinds recovered a Wildcat fumble at midfield in the final two minutes of the third to set up its final scoring drive of the night. Baldwin hit Johnson with a 35-yard scoring pass early in the final quarter to cap the seven-play, 52-yard drive; then the Eagles drove to the Wildcat four seven plays on their next possession only to see Ware haul down Baldwin on a quarterback sneak on a fourth-and-one.
     The Eagles scored the games final points on a safety when the ball was snapped over Oliver’s head into the end zone on the first play after PRCC took over.
     “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us in practice,” Hatten continued. “Defensively, our third-down performance was atrocious. We’re a much better football team that that...we can’t play that way and expect to repeat.”
     Pearl River finished the night with 14 first downs to Hinds 16, while the Eagles generated 327 yards of total offense (minus-12 rush, 339 pass) to the Wildcats’ 271 (30 rush, 241 pass). Oliver completed 17 of 37 passes (no interceptions) for all PRCC’s passing yardage.
     Brackins caught four throws for a team-high 89 yards, while Thomas had five catches for 72, Hollingsworth two for 41, Barnes four for 26, and Brandon Fountain of Moss Point two for 18.
     The Wildcats were penalized 18 times for a whopping 170 yards, while the Eagles drew 14 flags for 135.
     St. John punted five times for a 37.5-yard average, while Platt averaged 36.5 yards on seven kicks.
     PRCC hosts Jones for its homecoming game this Saturday at 1 p.m., while Hinds travels to Coahoma in Clarksdale for the Tigers’ homecoming.