Bears suffer nail-biting 31-30 loss at Hinds

A two-point conversion pass that fell just short was all that separated the Southwest Bears from a come-from-behind win Thursday night as the Hinds Eagles prevailed 31-30 in Raymond.

The Bears had trailed 31-17 with 6:47 left in the game before scoring two touchdowns in less than 3:00, the final one a four-yard De' Angelo Ballard to Ed Smith pass with only 0:54 left in the game. Rather than go for a game-tying extra point and overtime, the Bears elected to try for the go-ahead two-point conversion and a win. Unfortunately, Ballard's pass fell incomplete, leaving the Bears trailing by one point. Hinds recovered the onside kick and held on for the victory.

"We're going for it," Peavey said of the decision to go for the two-point conversion. "It's just that simple. They (Hinds) called a timeout & we're still going for it. We're on the road and I believe in what our guys can do and it's just one of those deals where they (Hinds) made a play and we didn't. If we had to do it over again, we'd do it again (try for two points). I'm not going to second-guess that. These guys wanted to go for it and go for the win so that's what we did."

The Bears end the season 3-5 overall and 2-4 in the MACJC South Division. Hinds closed the year at 5-4 and 3-3.

Hinds took an early 7-0 lead when quarterback James Summers closed out the Eagles' initial drive of the game with a three-yard dash to paydirt with 11:34 on the clock. Joseph Houston kicked the extra point.

The Bears quickly answered with a touchdown of their own to tie the game at 7-7. Ballard capped a seven-play, 68-yard drive with a six-yard scoring toss to Clifford Fernandez with 9:00 left on the clock. Reed James then kicked the extra point to end the first-quarter scoring.

Hinds regained the lead with 11:16 to play in the half when a long 16-play, 72-yard drive resulted in a 35-yard Houston field goal that made the score 10-7.

The Bears had a chance to take the lead when Rakeem Battle returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards to the Hinds eight-yard line. However, four plays resulted in only three yards gained for the Bears and they were forced to settle for James' 22-yard field goal that knotted the game at 10-10 with 8:29 left in the half.

After the teams traded possessions, Hinds then scored on a four-yard run by Joshua Dixon with 0:14 left on the clock. Houston added the PAT to allow the Eagles to take a 17-10 lead into the locker room at intermission.

The teams traded possessions to start the third quarter before the Bears tied the score at 17-17 with 8:57 remaining. Taking the ball at their own 25-yard line following a failed Hinds field goal, the Bears need only 0:47 to score. Ballard connected with Justin Blue for a 24-yard pass to move to the 49-yard line and Chris Jones did the rest, racing 51-yards to the end zone. James booted the extra point.

Hinds quickly responded on their next possession, and went back on top 24-17 with 6:50 still to play in the third, when a four-play 74-yard drive ended with a 49-yard Dixon touchdown run. Houston then kicked the PAT.

Hinds seemingly put the game on ice in the fourth quarter when Summers scored on a five-yard run with 6:47 left in the game and Houston added the PAT to put the hosts up 31-17.

But, the Bears refused to go away quietly. Taking possession of the ball at their own 31-yard line following the Hinds kickoff, the Bears used eight plays and only 3:16 off the clock to reach the end zone. Jones ended the march with a one-yard scamper for a touchdown. James' extra point kick made the score 31-24 with 3:23 left in the game.

The Bears' defense then stepped up, forcing the Eagles into a three-and-out, setting up Ballard's touchdown and the nail-biting ending.

"This is the last game of the year so a moral victory isn't even a factor," Peavey said. "I thought the guys played hard. I think we did some things early that we shouldn't do and made some mistakes. But, in the end, throughout the effort was there all the way down to the final horn. That's all you can ask for."

The Bears picked up 305 rushing yards on the night. Jones finished with two touchdowns and 204 yards on 21 carries while Ballard ran the ball 20 times for 101 yards.

Ballard completed 16 of 24 passes in the game for 218 yards with two touchdowns. Kameron Williams was on the receiving end of eight passes for 121 yards while Smith had two catches for 37 yards and a touchdown.

Blue had a 25-yard reception, Kelvin Williams a 13-yard reception and Carnell Owens an eight-yard reception. Fernandez caught one pass for a six-yard touchdown and Jones caught two passes for eight yards.

The Bears recorded 20 first downs in the game and were whistled for 91 yards on nine penalties. Brandon Mancuso punted three times for 28.3 yards.

Summers paced the Hinds offense. He carried the ball 31 times for 134 yards and two touchdowns and completed 14 of 21 passes for 130 yards. Dixon carried the ball 17 times for 129 yards.

The Eagles had 22 first downs in the game and were penalized 11 times for 77 yards. Houston punted four times for 30.8 yards.

What is next for Southwest football? "We start recruiting and start the off-season," Peavey said. "There's not much down time. It's time to move on to the next phase & start getting ready for next year."

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Bears suffer nail-biting 31-30 loss at Hinds