RAYMOND — One good run deserves another.

A bad 8- minute stretch wiped out all of Hinds Community College’s 24-3 halftime lead Thursday night in the season opener at Renfroe Stadium.

But the Eagles closed strongly to finish off Itawamba, 44-24. Hinds (1-0) answered Itawamba’s 21-point outburst with 20 straight points over a seven-minute span in the second half.

Hinds coach Gene Murphy liked how his team responded after losing all the momentum it had built after a dominating first half.

“We’ve got 40 freshmen and we’ve got a lot of growing up to do, but when the game got back to 0-0 (24-24) and we lost our momentum, our guys responded,” Murphy said. “Deon (Anthony) made some plays and our defense stepped it up. There’s no doubt, we’re better.”

Hinds showed it is much improved on both sides of the ball. The offensive line, keyed by Warren County natives John Gustavis and Steven Jordan at the guard spots, helped the Eagles rush for 337 yards. Five different backs scored touchdowns.

“We got a real good push there in the first half,” Murphy said. “Then we lost it there to start the second half, but came on with a good finish.”

Jordan said the Eagles had to respond after Itawamba made its run. The Indians used an 84-yard touchdown pass, a blown punt snap that landed at the Hinds’ 1 that set up an easy score, and an Anthony interception that was turned into Darren Daniel’s 17-yard run to tie the game.

“We came out flat to start the second half, but we stepped it up after they got tied,” Jordan said. “We were able to catch them slanting their tackles and we busted some traps.”

An interception by Adonis Armstrong stopped the Eagles’ bleeding and set up the tie-breaking score on Darryan Ragsdale’s 16-yard run. The former Puckett star went in untouched following a trap block by Jordan and Gustavis with 3:54 left in the third quarter.

After a three-and-out by ICC, Hinds went on a 59-yard drive in 12 plays, capped by Anthony’s 1-yard plunge with 12:50 left. Jeremy Palmer’s 34-yard run following Armstrong’s second interception a minute later capped the game’s scoring.

Palmer finished with 122 yards rushing. Anthony, who started at wide receiver last year, rushed for 111 yards and passed for 132. Quadarias Mireles, an Ole Miss signee who was placed at Hinds, had a 30-yard score off a reverse in the first quarter and Ragsdale’s seven-yard TD run made it 24-3.