No. 13 Gulf Coast downs No. 11 Hinds 38-27

RAYMOND – Down three points with 4:30 left to play, Mississippi Gulf Coast's season teetered on the brink.

No. 11 Hinds had just gone ahead and the No. 13 Bulldogs had 66 yards to go to tie or win.

Eleven plays later, including a phenomenal fourth-down conversion by Ge'Vonte Jones, T'Rod Daniels scored on a 5-yard touchdown pass. Chris Johnson scored on an interception return to ice a 38-27 victory.

"It's a great, great win. I'm excited for this football team," Gulf Coast coach Chad Huff said. "Hats off to Hinds. They 've got a great football team."

The Bulldogs, winners of 11 straight against Hinds, improved to 3-1, 2-0 in the MACJC South. Hinds is 3-1, 1-1.

Gulf Coast trailed 27-24 after a Javon Wims 11-yard fade route. It set up a fateful drive, one that nearly ended near midfield.

Facing a fourth-and-3 at the Hinds 47, A.J. Erdely turned and handed the ball to Jones.

"That's probably the best 4- or 5-yard run I've ever seen," Erdely said. "The guy he jumped over was not low; he was standing up. The best four-yard run I've ever seen."

Jones wound up making 6 yards on the play, part of a 16-carry, 102-yard, one-touchdown second half after not touching the ball in the first 30 minutes.

"The O-line and the backs told me, 'We're gonna get it,'" Huff said. "Ge'Vonte looked me in the eye and said 'I'm gonna get this. We got it.' He ran it like it was the last play he was ever going to play in his life."

Jones followed with an 11-yard run, and two plays later Daniels rushed 23 yards to the Hinds 7. A Hinds penalty and a short loss later, Erdely found Daniels for the 5-yard winning touchdown.

"I told Teezy to look fast because I knew it was going to be one-on-one," the quarterback said. "I saw the linebacker, and I knew he could outrun him. He didn't run the route like I thought he was, he just took two steps and looked at me so I gave him the ball."

Daniels, who had a long punt return for a touchdown called back earlier in the game because of penalty, somersaulted into the end zone with 18 seconds left.

"Coach had called the play, but I didn't even run the right route," he said. "I was supposed to take three steps and go down, but I saw there was nobody over me. So I told A.J. to hurry up and throw me the ball, I'm going to dive in there. I said look quick. I took one step and stopped, then I got in there and dove. I sacrificed for the team."

Hinds only got to run one play after the ensuing kickoff.

On Hinds' first play from scrimmage, defensive end Joe Green pressured quarterback Jacques Parks. In the process of dragging him down, he coughed it up and Chris

"We didn't even blitz them like I thought we would. I was getting a rush, but the defensive end Joe Green, he got to the quarterback before I did and hit him. The QB tried to get rid it real quick and it went in the air and I was able to catch it and run it back."

Johnson raced 41 yards to put icing on the cake, ending a back and forth contest.

Gulf Coast got three consecutive short scoring drives in the second quarter to take a 17-14 halftime lead.

After a botched punt by Hinds, Josh Rowland kicked a 32-yard field goal on a four-play, 4-yard drive to cut Hinds' lead to 7-3 with 12:19 left before half.

Marcus Betts recovered an Eagles fumble to set up Erdely's 4-yard pass to Tevaris McCormick, which capped a five-play, 18-yard drive about two minutes later.

On the next possession, Cam Myers' first interception set up an even shorter touchdown drive. This one was five plays, 15 yards, and ended on a 1-yard Chris Robinson plunge with 6:35 left before half to make the score 17-7.

Hinds trimmed the lead on T.R. Page's 3-yard run with 3:25 left.

The lead changed hands three times after halftime, with the Eagles going ahead on two touchdown passes from Parks to Wims, wrapped around Jones' 15-yard touchdown run.

In the end, though, the Bulldogs prevailed.

"This team's got a chance to be special," Huff said. "They showed they've got character and heart tonight. They played with a lot of effort. I think this team is still chipping at playing its best game."

Gulf Coast returns to action Thursday at A.L. May Memorial Stadium when Jones County visits. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.