ELLISVILLE – The 16^th-ranked Northwest Mississippi Rangers piled up 567 yards of total offense and rolled to a 42-20 victory over 19^th-ranked Jones County Junior College here Saturday night before around 4,500 fans at Bobcat Stadium/Sim Cooley Field.
Northwest quarterback Gardner Minshew scored on three, 1-yard touchdown runs and also completed 21-of-31 passes for 332 yards and a score.
JCJC quarterback Thad Miller was 21-of-35 for 247 yards and two interceptions. Bobcat wide receiver Kyle Oliver had three catches for 70 yards and running back Desherrius Flowers had 12 carries for 53 yards.
Defensively for the Bobcats, linebacker Ty Hill had six solos, 10 assists and 16 total tackles. Cornerback Jaylon Lane finished with 10 tackles and linebacker Jahmaad Harrell had seven stops.
For Northwest, Justin Crawford rushed 22 times for 134 yards. Jacob McCrary had seven catches for 144 yards and Marquisian Chapman had five catches for 123 yards.
Steven Bradley had 10 tackles for Northwest.
The Rangers took the opening kickoff and drove 56 yards in 11 plays, but turned the ball over on downs at the JCJC 24-yard line.
Two possessions later, Northwest would use some 'trickeration' to get on the scoreboard.
Minshew took the snap, handed the ball to Crawford, who then flipped it back to Minshew. Minshew then found McCrary open behind the secondary on the 'flea flicker' play for a 61-yard touchdown strike. Jim Speights kicked the extra point and the Rangers were ahead 7-0 with 4:04 left in the first quarter.
The Bobcats would then answer that score.
Tevin Moore returned the ensuing kickoff 28 yards to his own 41.
On the first play from scrimmage, James Milledge rushed for 30 yards. Two plays later, Miller connected with Logan Scott for a 17-yard gain to the Ranger 11.
Three plays later, the Bobcats faced a fourth and 2 at the Ranger 3-yard line. Michael Godley came on and booted a 20-yard field goal to make it 7-3 with 30.7 seconds left in the first quarter.
Northwest then came right back and moved 75 yards in eight plays for a touchdown. Minshew ended the drive with a 1-yard sneak and Speights' conversion made it 14-3 with 12:01 left in the first half. A 43-yard run by Crawford was the big play of the drive.
JCJC then answered by driving from their own 33 to the Ranger 21 in 12 plays. The drive stalled and Godley booted a 38-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-6 with 6:33 left in the first half.
But the Rangers responded with another scoring drive.
Northwest drove 69 yards in eight plays with Max Joseph scoring on a 3-yard run with 3:22 left in the second quarter. Speights' kick made it 21-6.
The Bobcats came out strong in the second half.
JCJC took the third quarter kickoff and drove 78 yards in 11 plays for a score. Miller found Milledge for a 35-yard screen pass, Moore for a 10-yard gain, Carlos Burse for 15 yards and Jarkice Davis for a 13-yard screen pass. Davis ended the drive with a 7-yard run on an option play around right end. The extra point was blocked and the Rangers led 21-12 with 11:09 left in the third quarter.
Northwest would come right back and move from their own 21 to the Bobcat 14 in nine plays. But the Rangers would cough up the ball at that point and JCJC's Al'Dreecous Wilson recovered to end the threat.
The Bobcats would then go '3 and out' and Northwest would take over at its own 14 after a 56-yard Patrick Ponder punt.
The Rangers would then drive 86 yards in 14 plays with Minshew sneaking it in from a yard away for the score. The Speights' PAT gave Northwest a 28-12 lead with 21.4 seconds left in the third quarter.
However, JCJC would come right and move within a score of the Rangers.
The Bobcats went 71 yards in 10 plays with Flowers scoring on a 1-yard run. Flowers then ran for the two-point conversion and JCJC was within 28-20 with 12:29 left in the game.
But once again, Northwest would answer.
KyKy Austin returned the kickoff 47 yards to the Bobcat 49. Northwest moved to the Jones' 27 where they faced a fourth and 6. The Rangers went for it and Minshew connected with Marquisian Chapman for a 26-yard pass down to the 1.
Minshew sneaked it again from that point and Speights added another conversion to make it 35-20 with 10:21 left.
After each team swapped possessions, the Bobcats were backed up to their own 12.
Miller was then pressured on a pass attempt and was picked off by Bradley, who returned it from the JCJC 25 to the Bobcat 4.
Crawford then ran it in on the next play and Speights ended the scoring with the extra point 5:42 remaining.
The Bobcats, 0-1, will travel to Itawamba for a 7 p.m. game on Thursday. The game will be audiocast on www.jcjc.tv and WLAU-FM, 99.3
Northwest, 1-0, will host Mississippi Gulf Coast on Thursday.
 
 
No. 16 Northwest Miss. 42, No.19 Jones County 20
Saturday, August 29
Bobcat Stadium/Sim Cooley Field
Ellisville
 
Northwest Mississippi (1-0)                    7 14 7 14 – 42
Jones County (0-1)                                      3 3 6 8 – 20
 
Scoring summary
1^st quarter – NWCC, Jacob McCrary 61-yard pass from Gardner Minshew, 4:04. Jim Speights PAT. NWCC 7-0.
1^st quarter – JCJC, Michael Godley 20-yard field goal, :31. NWCC 7-3.
2^nd quarter – NWCC, Minshew 1-yard run, 12:01. Speights PAT. NWCC 14-3.
2^nd quarter – JCJC, Michael Godley 38-yard field goal, 6:33. NWCC 14-6.
2^nd quarter – NWCC, Max Joseph 3-yard run, 3:22. Speights PAT. NWCC 21-6.
3^rd quarter – JCJC, Jarkice Davis 7-yard run, 11:09. PAT blocked. NWCC 21-12.
3^rd quarter – NWCC, Minshew 1-yard run, :21.4. Speights PAT. NWCC 28-12.
4^th quarter – JCJC, Desherrius Flowers 1-yard run, 12:29. Flowers run. NWCC 28-20.
4^th quarter – NWCC, Minshew 1-yard run, 10:21. Speights PAT. NWCC 35-20.
4^th quarter – NWCC, Justin Crawford 4-yard run, 5:42. Speights PAT. NWCC 42-20.
 
 
Northwest Miss.                                          Jones County
24                               FD                               18
194                             Rushes-Yards             120
21-31-0                      Comp-Att-Int             21-35-2
332                             Passing Yards             247
526                             Total Offense               367
3-24                            Penalties-Yards           5-25
3-45.0                         Punts-Ave.                   5-44.0
2-1                              Fumbles-Lost               2-1
 
JCJC statistics
Rushing
JCJC – Desherrius Flowers 12-53; James Milledge 7-40; Jarkice Davis 10-28; Thad Miller 2-7.
 
Passing
JCJC – Thad Miller 21-35-2 for 247 yards.
 
Receiving
JCJC – Kyle Oliver 3-70; Carlos Burse 5-48; James Milledge 2-28; Logan Scott 2-22; Tevin Moore 3-21; Jarkice Davis 2-21; Desherrius Flowers 1-11; Nate Cohen 1-10; Devin Elliot 1-10; Barry Gibson 1-6.