ELLISVILLE – All the waiting is over.
The Jones College Bobcats will finally take the field this week to open the 2020 season.
The Bobcats host East Central Community College at 7 p.m. Thursday at Bobcat Stadium/Sim Cooley Field. The game will air on JCJC.TV, SuperTalk WLAU-FM, 99.3, and SuperTalkLaurel.com with Luke Johnson and Chuck Robertson on the call.
Jones head coach
Steve Buckley said the Bobcats are prepared for the opener.
"We are ready to play somebody else," he said. "Enough is enough going against each other. You don't know where your bar is until you play your first game. With so many young kids, it's exciting to us as a staff to see where we are after Thursday night and I hope we are in a good spot."
The Bobcats return only 14 players from last year's team that went 7-3, advanced to the conference semifinals and finished at No. 10 in the final NJCAA poll.
Offensively, quarterback
Quaterius Hawkins (Bastrop, Louisiana) is back, along with wide receiver
Bud Tolbert (Water Valley) and guard
Jaqavius Yates (Crystal Springs). Defensively, the Bobcats should be strong up front with tackles
Jalen Williams (Tylertown),
Zach Causey (Madison Central) and
Josh Belk (Fort Lawn, South Carolina). Jones has experience at linebacker with
Kenderian Dixon (Yazoo County) and
DeLawrence Butler (Clinton), but the Bobcats have no starters returning in the secondary. In addition, Jones will have all new specialists this year.
East Central, under eighth-year head coach Ken Karcher, returns several players from last year's team that went 4-5, including All-American kicker Roben Beauplans. Also back for the Warriors is quarterback Holman Edwards, offensive lineman Jacqui Graham and defensive back Desmond Williams.
The Bobcats beat the Warriors 35-13 last season in the final regular season contest.
"They are going to be the same," Buckley said of the Warriors. "Ken and his staff do a great job. You are not going to outcoach East Central. You have to out-execute them. They are always a smart football team. They take care of the ball and they are not going to beat themselves. They are going to play extremely hard and scheme-wise, they know what they are doing. It's a great opponent and a great challenge."
With the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) just going to a six-game division only schedule, South Division teams will not be able to face North Division foes as a kind of "preseason" to league play.
"There is no room for error," Buckley said. "In the seasons before, you play the nine league games and they only count in the grand scheme of things. You have to be ready to play Thursday night because I know East Central will be ready to play."
Buckley added that with the lack of spring practice and summer workouts, injuries are starting to take their toll on teams.
"The last two weeks we've seen a lot of soft tissue injuries because we missed the spring – March, April and May of training – and we missed July of training," he said. "But at least we are playing football and that's the exciting thing. I think everybody is ready to play, whether or not we are ready to play from an X and O standpoint or an execution standpoint I can't answer that. But from a mental standpoint, we are ready to play."
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, only 1,625 fans (25 percent capacity) will be allowed at the game. Fans must wear masks and practice social distancing.
"It's going to be a different atmosphere," Buckley said. "But sometimes you've got to create your own atmosphere on the field. Sometimes, you've got to tune all of that out. The kids are seeing it on Saturday and Sunday before we play. The NFL doesn't have anybody there. It is what it is. We are excited that we are getting the opportunity to play this fall."
Fans who purchased football season tickets will be able to pick them up at WILL CALL on Thursday, Oct. 1 vs East Central. Please be prepared to show ID to claim your season pass. Receipt will be provided upon pickup. A limited number of single-game tickets will be available at the gate for $10 for Bobcat home games.
The Bobcats will have an open date next week before resuming play at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 15 at Hinds.
East Central hosts Southwest on Oct. 8.
