John Arterberry, Hinds quarterback, fumbles as he is hit by East Central’s Cedric Cotton.(The Vicksburg Post/C. Todd Sherman)

[10/12/01] Twenty years of misery and heartache for East Central Community College came to a joyous end Thursday night.

The Warriors (5-1, 3-0 South Division) fell behind 10-0, then reeled off 25 straight points to beat Hinds, 25-16. It was EC’s first win over the Eagles since 1981.

“This is so big, I don’t know what to say,” said EC linebacker Arrion Triplett, who recovered a pair of Hinds’ fumbles, then helped lead the postgame celebration at the midfield emblem of Joe Renfroe Stadium.

The Triplett-led defense stymied Hinds, holding the Eagles to 203 yards and the state’s leading rusher, ex-Vicksburg High star Caris London, to a season-low 29 yards. London also coughed up four of the five Hinds’ turnovers.

Eagles’ coach Gene Murphy, who’s 25-minute tirade after the game could be heard over the jubilant roar from the Warriors’ locker room next door, said he is dumbfounded.

The Eagles (2-4, 0-3) are reeling on a four-game losing streak and are virtually eliminated from the playoffs. Just one season ago, Hinds won its sixth state championship since 1988.

“All the mistakes tonight are just symptoms of the problem,” said Murphy, who has not had a losing season since becoming head coach in 1987. “We just can’t get them to take ownership of what they must do.

“We’re on and off and the inconsistency is so disappointing.”

The Eagles burst to a 10-0 lead seven minutes into the game, then watched as the Warriors rolled up 315 yards of offense.

Dontay Spillman led the Warriors with a game-high 133 yards receiving and a pair of touchdowns. Patrick Prince had 90 yards rushing and added a touchdown run as ECCC scored 25 points before Hinds scored the final touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

“This group made a commitment early this year that we were going to make a run for a championship,” fourth-year East Central coach Terry Underwood said. “We knew one of our great nemesis is Hinds, they have a great program. This is one of the biggest wins I’ve had since being at East Central.”

Hinds quarterback John Arterberry, making his second straight start, scored on a 1-yard plunge less than two minutes into the game for a 7-0 lead.

Trey Crum added a 34-yard field goal five minutes later, but the Eagles were shut out until the three-minute mark of the fourth quarter. University of Houston signee Patrick Walker, who had 133 yards passing, connected with Darius Wilson on an 11-yard TD pass to pull the Eagles to within 25-16.

“To be able to do what we did in the first and last drives, and to do all the things we did in between those two are very disappointing,” Murphy said.

“I cannot understand why they will not take ownership.

“We have not played that bad offensively all year long and tonight we needed to play well. We didn’t get it done.”

With three games left two on the road against Co-Lin and Jones, the top two teams in the South the Eagles take on an uncharacteristic role: spoiler.

Murphy, who has never had a four-game losing streak at Hinds, will lead the Eagles into Co-Lin on Thursday night.

“My objective tonight is to get the guys playing together for four quarters,” Murphy said.

“My objective next week will get us to play four quarters together. The only thing I know to do is keep working hard through the rest of the season.”