ELLISVILLE – With only three games remaining in the regular season, all seven MACJC South Division teams still have a shot at the playoffs.
"Everybody controls their own destiny," said Jones County Junior College head coach Steve Buckley. "That's the crazy thing about it. We just have to take care of business. All we can do is get ready to play our next opponent and that will be Pearl River on Saturday."
The 18^th-ranked Bobcats host the Wildcats at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Bobcat Stadium/Sim Cooley Field in the 86^th annual "Catfight." JCJC has won five straight vs. Pearl River and holds a 42-41-2 advantage in the series.
The Homecoming contest will air on www.jcjc.tv with Ed Smith and Chris Robinson on the call.
The Bobcats are currently 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the division, while Pearl River is 1-5 overall and 1-2 in the division. East Central tops the division at 3-1, while Mississippi Gulf Coast is 2-1. Hinds and Copiah-Lincoln are at 2-2, while Southwest is 1-2.
The Wildcats have struggled for the most part under first-year head coach David Saunders.
PRCC lost to Northeast (17-14), Northwest (31-14) and East Central (35-21) to start the season before bouncing back to whip Hinds (42-20). They have lost to Itawamba (51-34) and Southwest (31-21) since then.
Buckley said injuries have hurt the Wildcats.
"They lost their quarterback (D.J. Gillins) – the out-of-state transfer from Wisconsin – in the second game of the season," he said. "They have searched for an identity since then and I think they have now found it. They have become a power running team and run a lot of the same things we run.
"They have a very athletic kid at quarterback who is making plays for them and their running back is good. They are a scary football team."
On offense, the Wildcats are led by sophomore running back Darious Leggett (6-1, 185) from Forrest County AHS and quarterback Timothy Arnold (5-8, 160) of Bassfield.
Leggett is averaging 117 yards rushing per game, which leads the MACJC and ranks third in the NJCAA.
Defensively, linebackers Randy Hogan (6-0, 220) of Pascagoula, Chase Crosby (6-2, 220) of Harrison Central and Leonard LeBranch (5-11, 200) of Metairie, Louisiana, lead the Wildcats in tackles
The Bobcats are coming off a disappointing, 37-24 loss to East Central.
JCJC trailed 30-3 early in the third quarter, but cut the deficit to 30-24 and had a chance to win in the final minute when they had a first and goal at the Warrior 5-yard line. But ECCC ran a fumble back 85 yards for a touchdown to clinch the game.
Buckley said JCJC never lost confidence on the sidelines.
"To be honest with you, even when it went to 30-3, I thought we were going to come back and win the game, 31-30," he said. "It was a frustrating game and I hate to harp on the negatives, but you just can't turn the ball over against a good football team at any level. East Central is a sound team that does not make mistakes. We had four turnovers in the game and they had none.
"But from a positive standpoint – and I think time will tell this week – I think we grew up, not only offensively, but as a team. I thought our coaches did a great job of adjusting to what we had to do to put ourselves in a position to win the game."
Through six games, JCJC has turned the ball over 17 times. The Bobcats have only forced six turnovers, which gives them a minus 11 in that statistic.
"As a team we are not creating turnovers," Buckley said. "Every week, we are playing hard and with great effort, but we are just not creating turnovers. It's been a frustrating year from that standpoint. It's one of those years where the ball does not bounce in our hands."
Last week, Bobcat quarterback Mason Blocker (Covington, Louisiana) was 25-of-38 for 472 yards and two touchdowns, but had three interceptions. Wide receiver Kendall Parham (Oak Grove) had 10 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown and wide receiver Trevor Terry had three catches for 86 yards and a score. Wideout Daquan Smith (McComb) had 76 yards rushing and receiving.
"Daquan did well," Buckley said. "He showed an explosive skill set that we thought he had during recruiting. But, it's like I told the staff, he's a freshman."
Buckley said the passing game showed marked improvement.
"From a confidence standpoint, we have struggled throwing the football," he said. "We start nine freshmen on offense and we have struggled to throw the ball, but if anything, last week's game gives us confidence that we can throw the ball."
On the other hand, the Bobcats were limited to 71 yards rushing and failed to cash in touchdowns after having a first and goal on three occasions.
Running back Scott Phillips (South Jones) was held to 49 yards on 26 carries. Still, he is second in the MACJC and sixth nationally in rushing, averaging 109.5 yards per game. He has rushed for 10 touchdowns, which leads the state and is third in the NJCAA.
"East Central did an effective job of stopping our running game," Buckley said. "The first two drives we ran the ball well, but they won the battle up front after that. We were very ineffective once we got inside the 10-yard line all night. We had to settle for two field goal attempts and we missed one of those."
Defensively, cornerback Javien Hamilton (Bay Springs), defensive back A.J. Bracey (Terry) and linebacker C.J. Johnson (Petal) each had six tackles.
JCJC finished the game with six sacks, which gives them 39 on the season. That tops the MACJC and ranks second in the nation. End Markel Winters (Tallahassee, Florida) has 8 ½ sacks, which leads the MACJC and is tied for fifth nationally.
Buckley was pleased with the defense, especially in the second half.
"They had a 75-yard drive to start the second half and they converted a third and 28 and we had three penalties in a row," he said. "After that, they had a six-play/punt and then a six-play/punt and then three 'three and outs.' The last three drives they had, we gave up eight yards total."
Unfortunately, after East Central returned a pass interception 62 yards for a touchdown on JCJC's first possession, the Warriors connected on a 75-yard touchdown pass on their first play from scrimmage, which gave them a quick 14-3 lead.
"From a coaches' standpoint, you look at it and say, 'Were we ready to play?' and I think we were," Buckley said "We got beat in man coverage on a long pass to start the game. You live by the sword, you die by the sword and they had that one play and it's 14-3."
But Buckley said the Bobcats did the right things in the second half to put themselves in a position to win the game.
"We got behind, but from a time management standpoint, we managed the game correctly," he said. "We showed resilience and did not panic and made plays in all three phases of the game – offense, defense and special teams – and gave ourselves a chance to win the game.
"It was a frustrating game, but you have to look at where we are as a football program right now. This team won two games last year and East Central finished No. 10 in the country. We just have to keep grinding."
Now, the Bobcats – like all of the two-loss teams in the South Division – pretty much face a 'must-win' situation vs. Pearl River if they want to keep their hopes for postseason play alive.
Buckley said the Bobcats are looking forward to the Homecoming tilt. The weather forecast is good and a large crowd is expected for the "Catfight."
"We are excited to be back home," he said. "Obviously, we are playing a close rival and if you can't get excited about Homecoming and playing in front of your home crowd against a big rival, there is something wrong with you.
"I think our kids will respond. That's the thing I told our staff last Friday after the East Central game – we responded. It would have been easy to lay down and get the thing over with when we were down 30-3, but we came back and put ourselves in a position to win the game."
The Bobcats will have a short time frame to get ready for their next opponent. They travel to Hinds for a 6:30 p.m. game on Thursday, Oct. 20.
Pearl River goes to Mississippi Gulf Coast on Oct. 22.
 
 

MACJC standings

SOUTH DIVISION
Team                          Division                     Overall
                                    W        L                      W        L
East Central               3          1                      3          3
Miss. Gulf Coast         2          1                      3          3
Hinds                          2          2                      2          4
Copiah-Lincoln           2          2                      3          3
Jones County             1          2                      4          2
Pearl River                 1          2                      1          5
Southwest                  1          2                      2          4
 
NORTH DIVISION    
Team                          Division                     Overall
                                    W        L                      W        L
Northwest                 4          0                      6          0
East Mississippi        4          0                      5          1
Northeast                  2          1                      5          1
Holmes                      2          2                      4          2
Itawamba                   0          3                      3          3
Mississippi Delta        0          3                      1          5
Coahoma                   0          3                      0          6
 
 
Last week's results
East Central 37, Jones County 24
Southwest 31, Pearl River 21
Hinds 17, Copiah-Lincoln 14
East Mississippi 63, Holmes 49
Northeast 30, Itawamba 12
Mississippi Gulf Coast 42, Mississippi Delta 0
Northwest 34, Coahoma 0
Thursday's games
Mississippi Gulf Coast at Southwest, 7 p.m.
Copiah-Lincoln at Holmes, 6:30 p.m.
Northeast at Mississippi Delta, 7 p.m.
Coahoma at Itawamba, 7 p.m.
Saturday's games
Pearl River at Jones County, 2 p.m.
Hinds at East Central, 2:30 p.m.
Northwest at East Mississippi, 2 p.m.