Burciaga lifts Indians to win over Hinds

RAYMOND, Miss. – It's been said it's not how you start but how you finish, and that was the case for freshman kicker Eli Burciaga (Corinth) in Itawamba Community College's 10-7 road win over the Hinds Community College Eagles.

With the game tied 7-7, the Indians (1-0, 0-0 MACCC North) went on a nearly four-minute drive after forcing the Eagles (0-1, 0-0 MACCC South) to punt with 12:06 left in the third quarter.

QB Ty Davis (Fulton) found Zae Davis (Rienzi) for a 13-yard pass to midfield on a third-and-nine situation. The duo later connected on a 28-yard strike to move the ball to the six-yard line. The Eagles defense stiffened and forced the Indians into the field goal attempt.

After missing his first-ever collegiate field goal attempt from 33 yards out, Burciaga confidentially jogged on the field and drilled the eventual game-winning 20-yard kick with 8:05 left in the third quarter.

Hinds partially blocked a punt and took over at the Indians' 28-yard line with 1:46 left in the third quarter. ICC's defense answered the bell and forced the Eagles to punt on a fourth-and-20 situation.

The Eagles had one final surge in hopes of pulling off the come-from-behind victory. After driving to the 24-yard line, Orel Gray (Jacksonville, Fla.) forced the Hinds QB to scramble and throw the ball to the endzone, but Kylan Egerson (Oxford) jumped in front of the pass and stayed inbounds to negate the drive. 

The Indians were able to run out the clock and kneel their way to the 10-7 victory.

Defensively, ICC held Hinds to 188 yards of total offense (13 rushing; 175 passing) while recording nine sacks and picking off two passes.

Gray led the Indians with 10 tackles, two sacks and a tackle for a loss. Egerson and Dylan Rowsey (Rienzi) each had an interception on the night.

Offensively, the Indians rolled up 393 yards (185 rushing; 208 passing).

Ty Davis completed 18-of-35 passing for 208 yards and a 30-yard touchdown toss to Tyran Mosley (Kosciusko) in the second quarter. Zae Davis had nine catches for 117 yards. Jaylen Foster (Greenwood, SC) led the Indians' ground attack with 82 yards on 12 carries.

Up next for the Indians will be Pearl River Community College. The Wildcats (1-0, 0-0 MACCC South) upset No. 7 Northwest Mississippi Community College, 24-23, in Senatobia behind the arm and legs of dual-threat QB Kabe Barnett.

The pregame show will start at 6:30 p.m. on SuperTalk Tupelo 101.9 FM and LetsGoICCTV.com/red/ with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

Visit LetsGoICC.com for a full list of game-day events starting at 4 p.m. with the Spirit Walk and Red Zone Tailgate near the Davis Event Center.