ELLISVILLE – The Jones College Bobcats will try to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss this week.
 
Hinds kicked a 25-yard field goal as time expired to stun the Bobcats 18-16 last week in Raymond. It was the only lead of the game for the Eagles.
 
On Thursday, Jones (1-1) visits Southwest (0-2) to take on the Bears. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. and the game can be seen only at southwestbearathletics.com/watch because there is no internet available in the visitors' press box in Summit. Jones will also tape delay the broadcast and have it available for Bobcat fans on JCJC.TV after the game. 

The game can be heard on the JC network at WLAU-FM, 99.3 (after the conclusion of "The Lane Kiffin Show" at 7 p.m.) and SuperTalkLaurel.com with Luke Johnson and Chris Robinson on the call.

Bobcat head coach Steve Buckley said his team had numerous chances to win last week's game.
 
"It was a very disappointing loss," he said Monday morning. "I thought we had a chance to win the game with all three phases. Offensively, all we needed was a first down and we didn't convert it. Defensively, all we needed was a stop and we didn't get it. And on special teams all we needed was a block (on the game-winning field goal) and it was wide open for the block and we didn't execute that. And we did not get control of the onside kick. We executed the onside kick perfectly, but we just didn't make the catch. We had two opportunities and didn't make it."
 
The Bobcats took a 16-0 lead with 52 seconds left in the second quarter when quarterback Quaterius Hawkins (Bastrop, Louisiana) found Bud Tolbert (Water Valley) for a 51-yard touchdown pass. The extra point attempt was blocked and Buckley said that should not have been allowed to stand.
 
"They blocked our extra point and they leaped over our lineman, which is illegal," he said. "I was told they ran through the gap and there is not a gap on PATs and field goals because we are foot to foot. Maybe I don't know the rules because I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but when their guy puts his hands on our shoulders and leaps over us, that is a penalty."
 
Hinds then drove downfield and kicked a field goal on the final play of the half to make it 16-3.
 
"We're up 16-3 at halftime and should have been up more," Buckley said. "They gained momentum right before the half by kicking a field goal."
 
The Eagles came out in the second half and controlled the ball.
 
Hinds cut the lead to 16-9 and had the ball at the Jones' 49-yard line facing a fourth and 8 with less than a minute to play. Quarterback BeSean McCray found Jeffery Malone at the Bobcat 35. Malone appeared to have stepped out of bounds at that point, but no whistle was blown. He continued into the end zone for the score to make it 16-15 with 46 seconds left.
 
"The guy stepped out of bounds," Buckley said. "I am not a referee, but the referees did not cost us that football game. Jones football cost us that football game. But I'm not blind and I saw the same pictures (of Malone going out of bounds) that everybody else has seen."
 
Still, the Bobcats lined up and blocked the extra point. Jervin Smith (Biloxi) got the block and Travor Randle (Greenwood) made the recovery and began racing downfield towards the end zone. He gave out of gas inside the Hinds' 10-yard line.
 
However, on that play the Bobcats were called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty because it was ruled a Jones player coming off the sideline ran into an official while following the play. That was critical because it put the ball at midfield for the ensuing onside kick.
 
Buckley said that did not happen.
 
"We were called for running into an official that gave them the ball at the 50-yard line (for the onside kick)," he said. "It was one of our players on the field who was cramping up and was running off the field and bumped the official. It was not a guy off the sideline that bumped the official. Again, that did not cost us the football game, but it did move the ball 15 yards closer on an onside kick that we should have recovered."
 
Hinds took over at the Bobcat 44 after recovering the onside kick. Five plays later, the Eagles would connect on a 23-yard pass and get to the Jones 8. Connor Smith then booted his fourth field goal of the night to give the Eagles the win.
 
"Hinds lined up and won the football game when the game was on the line," Buckley said. "That had nothing to do with any officiating. That had something to do with coaching and playing."
 
Running back Romal Webb (Memphis, Tennessee) rushed 25 times for 141 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown run for Jones. Linebacker Mike Cockream (Ray Brooks) had 12 tackles, four tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks. Lineman Jordyn Mahaffey (West Marion) had a pass interception and linebacker DeLawrence Butler (Clinton) had a fumble recovery. 
 
But McCray hit 41-of-74 passes for 421 yards and one score and the Eagles ran 96 plays from scrimmage. Hinds was 9-of-25 on third downs ad 3-of-5 on fourth downs.
 
"Did we play well enough defensively to win the game? Absolutely," Buckley said. "Yes, we did. But we played too many plays defensively. That had a combination of two parts. Number one, offensively we did not make enough first downs. And defensively, we could not get off the field."
 
"I think the whole challenge is that we have to bury that ballgame, but can you own what happened to you? What I talked to the team about was that this was a team effort. It's on us. I think the biggest challenge is can we own it because it was about all three phases. It was not just about one phase."
 
The Bears have struggled in their first two games, losing 41-3 to Copiah-Lincoln and 21-0 to East Central. But Southwest had an open date last week to prepare for the Bobcats.
 
Buckley said Jones must concentrate on the Bears this week and forget about Hinds.
 
"In the end, the game is over and it's time to move on to Southwest," he said. "We have a young team. If we wallow in that (the Hinds game) for any more time – me included – we won't get ready to play. Southwest is a much improved football team. They do a lot of things on both sides of the ball that make you prepare long and hard."
 
Jones leads the series with Southwest, 68-12-1, and has won 18 of the last 19 games vs. the Bears, including nine straight.
 
The Bobcats return home next week and will host Pearl River at 7 p.m. on Oct. 29 in the 90th annual "Catfight." It was also be the annual Hall of Fame Game with the 2020 JC Sports Hall of Fame Class being announced.
 
Southwest goes to Hinds on Oct. 29.