Eagles get outmanned by Rangers
There was a packed house on hand for the opening game of the 2016 season between the Hinds Eagles and the Northwest Community College Rangers. The Rangers came to Raymond as the defending national champions and were out to prove that last year’s success was not a fluke.
The Rangers struck first with a 27-yard field goal from Drake McCaster. The Eagles then responded with a touchdown drive that featured two catches by LSU commit, Stephen Guidry (Livonia, LA).
The Rangers went up 16-7 after Fred Garth Jr. of Northwest picked off a pass from Hinds quarterback, Micah Zanders (Jacksonville, Fla.), and took it 39 yards for the score. After the teams exchanged field goals, the Rangers led 19-10 with 1:38 left in the first half.
The turning point in the game came on the following drive. Micah Zanders mishandled the hand off exchange and Willie McCaleb recovered the fumble and took it 11 yards for the scoop and score. At the half, the Rangers led 26-10 and never looked back.
The story of the first half were the two Eagle turnovers that led to 14 Ranger points. The Eagle defense struggled getting off of the field in the first half on third down, which caused multiple Ranger drives to get extended and turn into points for the Rangers. The Rangers used quick passes and a hurry up offense to keep the Eagle defense off balance.
In the second half, the Rangers used a two-headed monster rushing attack from Quarderman Sloan and Tywon Walters. The Ranger offense ran the ball 26 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.
The Eagles could not gain any momentum in the second half mainly because of the domination of the Ranger front four. The Eagles added a late touchdown in the fourth quarter and the final score showed Northwest Community College 40 Hinds Community College 17.
The Eagles did finish the game with 300 yards of total offense. Quarterback Micah Zanders threw for 276 yards with one touchdown and one interception. There were bright spots at receiver. Sophomore Ty Harris (Hattiesburg) had two catches for 75 yards and freshman Ra’Meik Wallace (Waynesboro) showed flashes of having a bright future with three catches for 39 yards. Over on the defensive side of the ball, Alvin Wilson (Lexington) had a great night. The sophomore linebacker had 13 tackles and Kevin Ratliff (Canton) was not far behind with 11 tackles. Freshman punter Spencer Cole (Flowood) started his collegiate career of by booting six punts for an average of 46 yards per punt.
Next week the Eagles (0-1) will be at home again as they host Itawamba Community College (1-0) at 6:30 pm at Joe Renfroe Stadium.
As Mississippi’s largest community college, Hinds Community College is a comprehensive institution offering quality, affordable educational opportunities with more than 170 academic, career and technical programs. With six locations in central Mississippi, Hinds enrolled nearly 12,000 credit students in fall 2015. To learn more, visit www.hindscc.edu or call 1.800.HindsCC.
