It took until the next-to-last game of the season, but Hinds Community College’s offense finally broke out in a big way.

Jabari Watson threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Demar Gardner in overtime, and Hinds rushed for 320 yards as a team as it beat Pearl River Community College 34-27 on Thursday.

The 34 points are a season high for Hinds (2-6, 2-3 MACCC South), which scored 67 points total in its first seven games.

Ian Gonzalez threw for one touchdown and passed for another for Pearl River (2-6, 2-3). The Wildcats trailed 27-7 midway through the third quarter before storming back to force overtime. Gonzalez’s 12-yard touchdown run with 3:20 left in the fourth quarter tied it.

Watson’s touchdown pass to Gardner put Hinds ahead in overtime.

Pearl River drove to the 1-yard line on its possession before a false start penalty backed it up to the 6 and derailed its momentum. Gonzalez threw an incompletion on first down, two running plays were stuffed, and another incomplete pass on fourth down ended the game.

Watson was only 4-of-18 passing, but had 130 yards and two touchdowns for Hinds. He also ran for 112 yards and a TD, and Julius Bradley rushed for 146 yards including a 62-yard touchdown.

Former Vicksburg High star Kearris Gilliam led Hinds’ defense with six tackles and one interception.

Northwest Mississippi 37, Holmes 35
Keon Hutchins caught a Hail Mary pass from Zach Wilcke for a 50-yard, game-winning touchdown as time expired to lift No. 8 Northwest Mississippi (7-1, 5-0 MACCC North) over No. 5 Holmes Community College (7-1, 4-1).

The wild finish was appropriate for a wild game between two top-10 opponents. After Holmes’ K.J. Miller returned the opening kickoff for a 96-yard touchdown, Northwest Mississippi ripped off four straight touchdowns of its own to lead 28-7 at halftime.

Holmes then owned the second half and scored on a 1-yard run by John Ford with 12 seconds left in the game to take a 35-31 lead.

On the final play, Hutchins went airborne at the goal line against three defenders and hauled in the pass in the end zone as the clock hit triple zeroes. It was Hutchins’ only reception of the game and the second of his college career.

Wilcke finished 18-of-27 passing for 232 yards and the one touchdown for Northwest. He also scored a rushing touchdown. D’mariun Perteet carried the ball 30 times for 189 yards and two TDs.

Ford passed for 331 yards and two touchdowns for Holmes, and also had the one rushing touchdown.

East Central 31, Copiah-Lincoln 14
Karl Ligon rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 14 East Central Community College (6-2, 4-1 MACCC South) scored 24 unanswered points to beat Copiah-Lincoln (4-4, 3-3).

Landon Sims passed for 227 yards and one touchdown as East Central clinched a berth in the MACCC playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Co-Lin’s Deantre Jackson Jr. ran for 73 yards and a touchdown, but the Wolves finished with just 68 rushing yards as a team after allowing eight sacks.

Former Warren Central standout Demarcus Jones had two tackles for East Central’s defense, while Donnie Smith and Tony Tate had two sacks each.

Itawamba 17, Northeast Mississippi 0
Ty Davis threw two touchdown passes in the first half, and Itawamba Community College’s defense registered seven sacks as it earned its second shutout of the season.

Davis completed 20 of 30 passes for 181 yards. He threw a 5-yard TD to Tre Gunn on the Indians’ opening possession, and a 26-yarder to Tyran Mosley late in the second quarter. Eli Burciaga kicked a 38-yard field goal in the third quarter to close out the scoring.

Zae Davis caught nine passes for 68 yards for Itawamba (6-2, 4-1 MACCC North). JT Beasley had four receptions for 120 yards for Northeast Mississippi (3-5, 2-4).

Orel Gray had nine tackles, three sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss and one forced fumble to lead Itawamba’s defense.

East Mississippi 49, Mississippi Delta 0
Jaylen Jennings ran for 50 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries, and Ty Keyes passd for 244 yards and two touchdowns as East Mississippi (4-4, 3-2 MACCC North) rolled over Mississippi Delta (1-7, 0-5).

Jennings had touchdown runs of 6, 3 and 2 yards in the first half as East Mississippi took a 42-0 lead at halftime. The Lions finished with 516 yards of total offense.

Jones College 37, Southwest 21
Blake Murphy passed for 222 yards and three touchdowns, and Jones College (4-4, 2-3 MACCC South) beat Southwest Mississippi (1-7, 1-4) for the 14th consecutive time.

Jones put away a close game by scoring twice in the fourth quarter. Murphy’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Marlon Lindsey with 8:21 left and Ky’Yon Harris’ 2-yard TD run with 3:34 to go made it 37-21 after Southwest had cut it to three points.

Harris finished with 43 rushing yards and a touchdown for Jones, and Gerald Modest had 93 yards and a TD.

Chris Hunter led Southwest’s offense with 74 rushing yards and a touchdown. Bears quarterback Quez Goss threw three interceptions.