ELLISVILLE – The Jones County Junior College Bobcats will try to halt a two-game losing streak this week.
JCJC (4-3 overall, 1-3 in South Division) travels to Hinds (2-5 overall, 2-3 in division) for a 6:30 p.m. game on Thursday. The contest will air on www.jcjc.tv with Mark Easley and Chris Robinson on the call.
The Bobcats fell to East Central (37-24) two weeks ago and dropped a frustrating, 30-23 contest to Pearl River last Saturday during Homecoming on the JCJC campus. The two division losses have just about eliminated the Bobcats from playoff contention.
Head coach Steve Buckley addressed the team on Sunday and emphasized the importance of the final two games of the regular season.
"Like I told them, we are going to dig in and finish these last two games," he said. "Mathematically, there still may be some hope, but we are not worried about that right now. We are going to finish strong because I think that's important for the guys that are leaving to leave here laying the building blocks to what we are trying to do.
"It's important for the guys who are returning to leave the season with a positive taste in their mouth."
Last week's defeat stings because of the way JCJC lost the game. The Bobcats committed six turnovers, including giveaways on four straight possessions to start the second half when they held a 16-7 lead.
"That's the bottom line," Buckley said. "We had it four straight possessions in the second half and turned it over four times. You can't turn it over like that against anybody and win. Until we learn to take care of the ball, it's an uphill battle."
The Bobcats limited Pearl River to only 10 first downs and just over 200 yards of total offense.
But the Wildcats converted a third and 12 play for a 26-yard touchdown pass on a  'jump ball' toss into the end zone and had a 69-yard scoring run that gave them a  two-touchdown cushion in the fourth quarter.
Other than those two plays, Buckley was pleased with his team's defensive performance.
"I've been doing this for 20-something years and I don't think I've ever seen a more dominant defensive performance," he said. "They had 10 possessions in the first half and they had six 'three play or less' drives. Our defense played 37 plays in the first half and around 20 in the second half.
"We did a great job mixing up zone and man coverage and I thought we tackled well. There were two explosive plays we gave up – one on a run and one on a jump ball in the end zone and that was it. We were in perfect position and don't make the play. On the long run, we had gone for it on fourth down and did not make it. We put it on our defense, but they hit a crease and made a big run."
Linebacker Cannon Gibbs (Northwest Rankin) had another standout game for Jones with eight tackles, two tackles for loss, one assist, one fumble recovery and a pass breakup. Defensive backs Tyrek Moody (Petal) and A.J. Bracey (Terry) each had five tackles.
Defensive end Markel Winters (Tallahassee, Florida) had two sacks and recorded a safety. Winters now has 10.5 sacks o the year, which leads the MACJC and ranks fifth in the NJCAA. As a team, JCJC has recorded 47 sacks, which tops the state and is second in the nation.
End Marques Ford (Riverview, Florida) scored a touchdown on the game's first play from scrimmage when he caught a bobbled Pearl River snap and went into the end zone from 10 yards away.
"We played as well defensively against Pearl River as we have played all year," Buckley said. "We did a great job of containing their quarterback and we knocked the other quarterback out of the game. Certainly, we played well enough to win the game."
Offensively, JCJC rushed for 336 yards, led by 141 yards from Scott Phillips (South Jones). Phillips is averaging 114.0 yards per game, which is second in the state and fourth in the nation.
But the Bobcats were only 4-of-18 through the air for 24 yards and four interceptions.
"At halftime we looked at it and they were playing us eight in the box with one safety and we thought we had to take some shots to get them off of us," Buckley said. "Looking back, maybe we put our quarterbacks in some bad situations, but that's on me. We felt like there were plays out there throwing the ball down the field because they were basically in a 'cover three' defense.
"I thought we ran the ball effectively. I have never coached a game where we ran for 336 yards and lose the game. But looking at the whole big picture, it all goes back to one thing – turnovers."
The Eagles have had a tough season, but they did surprise Copiah-Lincoln (17-14) two weeks ago. Their only other victory was over Southwest (27-0) on Sept. 15. Hinds has lost to No. 5 Northwest (40-17), No. 18 Itawamba (45-20), Pearl River (42-20), Mississippi Gulf Coast (34-0) and last week to East Central (45-14).
But Buckley said the Eagles are a capable team.
"They beat Co-Lin two weeks ago," he said. "They are a lot like us in a lot of ways – up and down. We have been in every ballgame. They have had some games they were not in, but anytime you line up and beat Co-Lin – who I think is a very good football team – you've got to have some good players and Hinds has good players on both sides of the ball."
Jones has a quick turnaround to go on the road this week after playing last Saturday.
Buckley said the Bobcats would have to put the Pearl River loss behind them quickly.
"The only thing you can do is move on to the next one," he said. "You can waller in it, but on a short week, you don't have time to waller. It was a bad loss for us. It was disappointing to lose Homecoming and that's on me as the head coach. When you are building a program and you think you are on the right foot, you are going to have setbacks.
"I have got to re-evaluate my role on getting these kids ready to play and put them in a situation to win."
The disheartening thing for the Bobcats in all of their losses this season is that they had legitimate chances to win each contest.
They held a 22-13 fourth quarter lead over Co-Lin before falling, 27-22. They trailed East Central 30-24, but had a first and goal at the 5-yard line in the final minute of play before the Warriors ran a fumble recovery back for a touchdown and lost, 37-24.
Last week, the Bobcats led in the third quarter before losing the lead. They still had a chance for the tying touchdown with just less than two minutes to play before turning the ball over on downs.
"We are about five plays away from being undefeated," added Buckley.
The Bobcats end regular season play next week at home at 7 p.m. on Oct. 27 vs. Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The Eagles travel to No. 3 East Mississippi next week.
 

MACJC standings

SOUTH DIVISION
Team                          Division                     Overall
                                    W        L                      W        L
East Central                4          1                      4          3
Miss. Gulf Coast         3          1                      4          3
Copiah-Lincoln           2          2                      4          3
Pearl River                 2          2                      2          5
Hinds                          2          3                      2          5
Jones County             1          3                      4          3
Southwest                  1          3                      2          5
 
NORTH DIVISION    
Team                          Division                     Overall
                                    W        L                      W        L
East Mississippi         5          0                      6          1
Northwest                  4          1                      6          1
Northeast                   3          1                      6          1
Holmes                      2          2                      4          3
Itawamba                   1          3                      4          3
Mississippi Delta        0          4                      1          6
Coahoma                   0          4                      0          7
 
 
Last week's results
Mississippi Gulf Coast 47, Southwest 35
Copiah-Lincoln 35, Holmes 21
Northeast 34, Mississippi Delta 10
Itawamba 41, Coahoma 20
Pearl River 30, Jones County 23
East Central 45, Hinds 14
East Mississippi 51, Northwest 34
Thursday's games
Jones County at Hinds, 6:30 p.m.
East Central at Northwest, 6:30 p.m.
Holmes at Northeast, 6:30 p.m.
East Mississippi at Coahoma, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday's games
Southwest at Copiah-Lincoln, 3 p.m.
Pearl River at Mississippi Gulf Coast, 3:30 p.m.
Mississippi Delta at Itawamba, 3:30 p.m.