ELLISVILLE – The 2016 Jones County Junior College football season comes to an end this week.
The Bobcats will host Mississippi Gulf Coast at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Bobcat Stadium/Sim Cooley Field. The game will air on www.jcjc.tv with Mark Easley and Chris Robinson on the call.
JCJC owns a 5-3 overall record, but they are only 2-3 in the MACJC South Division and are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
MGCCC is 5-3 overall and is currently tied with East Central for first place in the division at 4-1. The Bulldogs can clinch a playoff spot with a victory. But in the event of a three-way tie with ECCC and Copiah-Lincoln, MGCCC would finish third. East Central visits Southwest and Co-Lin, currently 3-2 in the division, goes to Pearl River on Saturday.
First-year head coach Steve Buckley believes the Bobcats will be ready to play on Thursday.
"We would love to be playing this game for a playoff spot, but that's not the case," Buckley said. "But we need to play for pride and for the future right now. I think our kids will do that because effort has never been a problem with these kids.
"At the same time, it's like I told the kids last night (Sunday) we've made a heckuva turnaround here in one season. Not just on the field, but the overall program has light. We feel good about where we are and where we are headed as a program."
The Bobcats were 2-7 last year and will have a chance for a six-win season with a victory over the Bulldogs.
MGCCC lost three of its first four games this year, but has since reeled off four consecutive wins over Hinds (34-0), Mississippi Delta (42-0), Southwest (47-35) and Pearl River (30-17).
They are led on offense by running back T'Rod Daniels (5-9, 175), a sophomore from Bassfield, and on defense by end Isiaiah Buggs (6-4, 290), a sophomore from Ruston, Louisiana. Daniels has committed to Southern Miss and Buggs is regarded as one of the top uncommitted junior college players in the nation. He has offers from Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Ole Miss, among numerous others.
"He (Daniels) might be the most explosive back we've played this year," Buckley said. "He is a great kick returner and punt returner and they do a good job of getting him the ball. They do a great job of taking care of the ball, which is also important.
"Their front three on defense is as good as we've played this year. They play a 3-3 stack and they force you to throw the football, which is not our cup of tea. But we are going to have to execute the throwing game on Thursday night to get them off of us and be successful."
JCJC is coming off a quality road win over Hinds.
The Bobcats trailed 20-7 at halftime and 27-14 early in the third quarter before rallying for a 28-27 victory.
Buckley was pleased with the way his team battled back vs. the Eagles.
"It's like I told them Sunday night and it's what we talk about every day – it's about overcoming adversity," he said. 'We were down 20-7 on the road and nobody panicked and nobody started pointing fingers. We stuck to what we thought we had to do to win the game and that was not turn it over and run the football."
Defensively, JCJC allowed 304 yards of offense – with 180 yards coming on just four plays. The Eagles had three touchdown passes of 27, 70 and 46 yards and a 37-yard touchdown run.
"Seven of their 12 possessions ended in 'three and outs' and that's pretty good defense," Buckley said. "So, the percentage of 'three and outs' was huge in our favor. We allowed them just 45 snaps, so that was very good on our part."
Linebacker Cannon Gibbs (Northwest Rankin) finished with six tackles and one pass breakup, while linebacker Ramon Patton (Pascagoula) had five tackles, one sack and one pass breakup. End Markel Winters (Tallahassee, Florida) had two sacks, linebacker Tramond Lofton (Wayne County) and end Brandon Young (West Jones) each had one sack and end Marques Ford (Riverview, Florida) had ½ a sack.
The Bobcats have 52 sacks as a team, which tops the MACJC and ranks second in the NJCAA. Winters has 12.5 sacks, which leads the state and is third nationally.
"Brandon made some key plays, Tramond had a big sack, Markel was steady, Jordan (Beaton) and Tony (Adams) were solid inside," Buckley said. "I thought our defensive staff did a great job of adjusting on the fly. We got beat in man coverage, where you live by the sword, you die by the sword. We did not die by it the other night – we adjusted from it.
"Give Hinds credit because they've got some darn good receivers and they challenged us down the field. We accepted the challenge, but just did not finish the play."
Tackle Javon Kinlaw (Charleston, South Carolina) had a blocked field goal and two tackles for loss. But he absorbed a 'major stinger' in the final minute of play and had to be taken to a local hospital to be evaluated.
"Everything checked out fine with Javon," Buckley said. "It was a scary moment and I think he was basically knocked out for a moment. All of the CT scans and x-rays turned out good for him, but he will not be able to play this week.
"Javon has played as well as anybody over the last three weeks. He has really grown up as a football player."
On offense, the Bobcats rushed for 323 yards, led by running back Scott Phillips (South Jones) and quarterback Detric Hawthorn (Collins). Phillips had 149 yards on 35 carries and three touchdowns, while Hawthorn rushed 20 times for 127 yards. Rashaud Green had 33 yards on the ground.
Phillips has 13 rushing touchdowns, which leads the MACJC and is fourth in the NJCAA. He is averaging 118.4 yards per game, which is second in the state and third in the nation.
"It always starts up front on both sides of the ball and the offensive line, again, got a hat on a hat and did a good job of blocking and executing inside and outside zone," Buckley said. "They did an excellent job and Scottie and Rashaud carried it effectively."
Hawthorn had a tough first half, but rebounded with an excellent second half, including a clutch, 33-yard touchdown run.
"Detric did what we asked him to do," Buckley said. "He extended plays and made plays with his legs. We are not throwing the ball effectively right now and when you can't do that, you've got to do something else. He accepted the challenge.
"I thought he had a horrible first half and at halftime, we talked about that. From a standpoint of what gives us the best chance to win the game, it was using a quarterback with legs who can help extend plays."
JCJC dominated time of possession, controlling the ball for 72 snaps. Most importantly, Jones did not have an offensive turnover.
Buckley was particularly pleased with the way the Bobcats maintained possession over the final part of the fourth quarter.
"We had zero offensive turnovers and only two 'three and outs' out of 12 possessions" he said. "That was a very positive flip for our offense. In the end, we got the ball with six minutes left and used up five minutes of the clock. If we don't get a crazy holding call on a play Scotty popped to the 12-yard line, the game is over."
Buckley also noted the way the entire team rallied after failing to convert a fourth and 1 play at its own 28 with around five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
JCJC trailed 27-14 at the time, but the defense blocked a Hinds' field goal attempt, drove for a touchdown and the Bobcats controlled the game after that point.
"We responded huge when we went for it on fourth and 1 at our own 28, which was not a very smart call on my part," he said. "I've been doing this long enough to know not to do that, but I felt like we could get a yard. If we execute the play called, we might hit a touchdown.
"But Javon blocked the field goal and (Derric Hawthorn) scooped it and ran it back about 20 yards."
Now the Bobcats would love nothing more than to douse Gulf Coast's playoff hopes.
"It will be a tremendous challenge for us," Buckley said. "It's another rival game and we did not respond very well to a rivalry game two weeks ago (a 30-23 loss to Pearl River). We are playing pride for right now."
The MACJC semifinals are slated for Nov. 5 with the state championship set for Nov. 12.
 

MACJC standings

SOUTH DIVISION
Team                          Division                     Overall
                                    W        L                      W        L
East Central               4          1                      4          4
Miss. Gulf Coast         4          1                      5          3
Copiah-Lincoln          3          2                      5          3
Pearl River                 2          3                      2          6
Jones County             2          3                      5          3
Hinds                          2          4                      2          6
Southwest                  1          4                      2          6
 
NORTH DIVISION    
Team                          Division                     Overall
                                    W        L                      W        L
East Mississippi         6          0                      7          1
Northwest                  4          1                      7          1
Holmes                       3          2                      5          3
Northeast                   3          2                      6          2
Itawamba                   2          3                      5          3
Mississippi Delta       0          5                      1          7
Coahoma                    0          5                      0          8
 
 
Last week's results
Jones County 28, Hinds 27
Northwest 20, East Central 14
Holmes 41, Northeast 21
East Mississippi 42, Coahoma 0
Copiah-Lincoln 30, Southwest 20
Mississippi Gulf Coast 30, Pearl River 17
Itawamba 49, Mississippi Delta 7
Thursday's games
Mississippi Gulf Coast at Jones County, 7 p.m.
Hinds at East Mississippi, 7 p.m.
Northeast at Northwest, 7 p.m.
Saturday's games
Copiah-Lincoln at Pearl River, 2 p.m.
Coahoma at Mississippi Delta, 2:30 p.m.
Itawamba at Holmes, 3 p.m.
East Central at Southwest, 5 p.m.