Football | 10/16/2019 11:03:00 AM

ELLISVILLE – The stakes will be high for 10th-ranked Jones College this week.

The Bobcats visit Wesson to take on Copiah-Lincoln at 3 p.m. Saturday. The game will air on JCJC.TV with Mark Easley on the call and live stats will also be available.

Jones is currently 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the MACJC South Division. Top-ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast is 7-0 and 4-0 in the division. No. 6 Hinds is 6-1 and 3-1 and East Central is 4-3 and 3-1. 

The top two teams in the division make the playoffs and with only two games remaining in the regular season, Saturday's game is crucial for the Bobcats.

Jones head coach Steve Buckley said the Bobcats know where they stand when it comes to postseason play.

"We know where we are and we've just got to keep playing," he said from his office Wednesday morning. "We put ourselves behind the 8-ball. We've got to dig ourselves out of it because nobody else is going to help us. I think our kids have responded to that and we need to take care of business Saturday and see what happens down the road."

Co-Lin is 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the division and has lost four straight games. But the Wolves have talent at several positions.

Quarterback Danny Clark (6-3, 225) is a transfer from Kentucky. Wide receiver Malik Heath (6-2, 215), end Jordan Davis (6-5, 250), linebacker Tyrus Wheat (6-3, 245) and guard Sebastian Dolcine (6-4, 270) have all committed to Mississippi State. Buckley said Co-Lin head coach Glenn Davis will put a solid team on the field this weekend.

"They have the transfer quarterback from Kentucky who is obviously a seasoned guy," he said. "They have tremendous receivers that can go get it. I'm not going to say they will run or pass more than the other. I've known Glenn a long time and he believes in both phases of the offense. They are so explosive offensively at the receiver and quarterback positions. You have to be sound in your coverage."

"Defensively, they are so multiple. You are going to get 4-down and 3-down (fronts) and they are a big blitz team. They are huge up front. Both of their ends are 6-5, 250. They are long and can run. They've done a good job of recruiting and we've got to be ready to play."

The Bobcats are coming off another stellar performance.

Jones whipped Northeast Mississippi 35-3 last week. The Bobcats had 434 yards of offense with 334 yards rushing.

The Bobcats now lead the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 9.6 points per game.

Running backs Ladamian Webb (Opelika, Alabama) and Kalyn Grandberry (Memphis, Tennessee) each rushed for over 100 yards. Webb had 19 carries for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Grandberry had 18 carries for 149 yards and one score. Bud Tolbert (Water Valley) had two catches for 34 yards and a score. Manny Jones (Amory), the nation's leading punt returner, returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown.

The Bobcats had 12 tackles for loss and six quarterback sacks.

Linebacker Mike Cockream (Ray Brooks) had eight tackles, one TFL and half a sack. Linebacker Kevon Cloyd (Columbia) seven tackles, one TFL, one sack and one pass breakup. Linebacker Daylen Gill (Louisville) five tackles, one TFL and one quarterback hurry. End Chei Hill (Miami, Florida) had five tackles, 2.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks. Back Rakeim Ashford (Choctaw County) had three tackles and 2.5 TFLs. Cornerback Lakevias Daniel (Louisville) had two tackles, one TFL, one sack and intercepted his third pass in the last four games.

"I thought we played well enough in all three phases," Buckley said. "Defensively, we gave up three big runs that were explosive plays on our end. It was just guys getting out of gaps or breaking contain and we've got to fix that. But overall defensively, we did a great job of not letting them score."

"Offensively, we established the running game with both backs and the offensive line did a tremendous job, especially in the first half. You take the second half and we were '3 and out' three times and we had two dropped passes. We also had a 15-yard personal foul penalty and that is not who we are going to be."

Buckley was especially pleased with the way the Bobcats ran the ball and put up points. The Tigers entered the game allowing only 15 points per game. The most points in a game Northeast had allowed all season was 17 vs. Coahoma on Sept. 12, a 26-17 NEMCC win.

"You look at Northeast and what they had done defensively and they had not had a back rush for over a hundred yards all year and nobody had scored many points on them," he said. "I thought we did some good enough things offensively to establish the game in our favor early."

But Jones must put that game behind them and prepare for a dangerous Co-Lin team.

The Wolves opened the season with wins over Holmes (27-21), Northeast (14-7) and Pearl River (32-9). Since then, they have lost to No. 2 Northwest (19-15), No. 1 Gulf Coast (38-20), East Central (23-18) and No. 6 Hinds (35-21).

"They are a very talented team," Buckley said. "They have struggled a little bit lately, but that does not change who they are. Our league is so crazy this year and top to bottom anybody can win on a given week. I think that's what we want in our league. Co-Lin is playing well at times. They are a good football team and it's their Homecoming and we've got to be ready to play."

Another factor this week is the rain.

The Bobcats will be unable to practice outside because of all of the rain in Jones County. There is also a possibility of rain on Saturday.

"Who knows how the weather is going to unfold?" Buckley said. "We are not going to get on the field this week, which definitely hurts us. I would say that's a benefit to Co-Lin because they have turf and they are going to be able to get outside. There is no way we can get on the field today (Wednesday) or tomorrow. We will probably change our schedule and maybe we can get out there on Friday a little bit. But the field is under water right now."

The Bobcats conclude regular season play next week. Jones hosts East Central at 7 p.m. on Oct. 24.

Co-Lin visits Southwest on Oct. 26.
 

MACJC STANDINGS

SOUTH DIVISION
                                    Division           Overall
Gulf Coast                    4-0                     7-0
Jones College              3-1                     5-2
Hinds                            3-1                     6-1
East Central                 3-1                     4-3
Copiah-Lincoln             1-3                     3-4
Pearl River                   1-4                     2-5
Southwest                    0-5                     0-7
 
NORTH DIVISION
                                    Division           Overall
Holmes                           3-1                   3-4
Northwest                       3-1                   6-1
Itawamba                       3-2                   3-4
East Mississippi             2-2                   4-3
Northeast                       2-2                   3-3
Mississippi Delta            2-3                   2-5
Coahoma                       0-4                   1-6
 
Last week's results
Jones 35, Northeast 3
Hinds 35, Copiah-Lincoln 21
Mississippi Gulf Coast 25, East Central 5
Holmes 49, East Mississippi 42
Itawamba 41, Mississippi Delta 7
Northwest 54, Coahoma 18
Pearl River 17, Southwest 16
 
October 17 games
Hinds at East Central, 6:30 p.m.
Pearl River at Mississippi Gulf Coast, 7 p.m.
Itawamba at Southwest, 6:30 p.m.
Northwest at Northeast, 6:30 p.m.
East Mississippi at Coahoma, 7 p.m.
 
October 19 games
Jones at Copiah-Lincoln, 3 p.m.
Holmes at Mississippi Delta, 2:30 p.m.