POPLARVILLE, Miss.— Pearl River struggled to find its groove Thursday, falling to No. 16 Hinds 51-9 at Dobie Holden Stadium.
"We gave up big plays. We gave up big plays from the start of the game with the opening kickoff and the next play with the deep ball. We just didn't make the plays when they came to us," Pearl River coach Ted Egger said. "We need to get back to practice and get better at it."
The Wildcats return to the gridiron Saturday when they travel to Ellisville to face Jones College for a 2 p.m. start.
SCORING SUMMARY
The Eagles (4-1 overall, 2-1 MACJC South) pounced on the Wildcats (1-4, 0-3) in the first quarter with several big plays, finding the end zone on the opening kickoff and then tacking on 82- and 49-yard touchdown passes sandwiched around a 20-yard field goal.
HCC added to its 24-0 advantage in the second quarter, scoring on an 80-yard run and 55-yard pick-six.
PRCC's most successful drive of the first half came early in the second quarter. Aided by a 37-yard pass-and-catch from Terrence Humphrey (Clarksdale) to Stetson Moore (Philadelphia), the Wildcats got inside the Hinds 5-yard line before penalties derailed the possession. PRCC settled for a 36-yard field goal by Gayden Hence (Hattiesburg).
The Eagles added to their lead in the second half, scoring on runs of 10 and 3 yards to ease ahead of the Wildcats 51-3.
The Wildcats broke the shutout with four minutes remaining when Tionne Frost (Gulfport) bulldozed his way into end zone for a 5-yard score.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Humphrey completed 13 of 24 passes for 109 yards. Lance Stewart (Oxford; Lafayette County) led PRCC on the ground with 84 yards on 14 carries with a long of 22 yards.
Moore was PRCC's go-to receiver Thursday, hauling in three passes for 52 yards. Four other receivers had two receptions each.
PRCC's defense came up big a couple times Thursday. Darrell Sims Jr. (Bassfield; Jefferson Davis) forced a fumble and Radonte Womack (Prentiss; Jefferson Davis) jumped on the loose ball. Darrell Luter (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) also picked off a pass.
Hence averaged 37.8 yards per punt on the night for PRCC.
HOW TO TUNE IN
All home events are broadcast on PRCCAthletics.com and PRCCMedia.com. Anyone who has an Amazon Fire or Roku device can stream PRCC broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" Channel from the app store.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
