ELLISVILLE – There will be a new No. 1 in the NJCAA football poll next week.
 
No. 13 Mississippi Gulf Coast defeated top-ranked Jones College 27-23 here Thursday night before a large crowd at Bobcat Stadium/Sim Cooley Field.
 
The Bulldogs took advantage of three Bobcat fumbles inside their own red zone and hit two long touchdown passes to pull out the victory.
 
Jones falls to 7-1 overall, 4-1 in the MACCC South Division. Gulf Coast improves to 6-2 and 4-1 in the division. Hinds is also 4-1 in the division after a 52-14 win over East Central. 

The Bobcats can win the south and host a conference semifinal game on Saturday, Nov. 6 with a win at Co-Lin next Thursday.
 
The loss overshadowed another sterling performance from running back La'Damian Webb (Opelika, Alabama). Webb carried 39 times for 217 yards. He now has 1,275 yards on the season, which leads the NJCAA and he has over 2,000 yards in his Bobcat career.
 
Defensively, Drew Horton (Madison-Ridgeland Academy) and Travor Randle (Greenwood) each had six tackles. Hershey McLaurin (Collins) and Kenderian Dixon (Yazoo County) each had five stops. Hershey McLaurin and Ty Rawls (Wetumpka, Alabama) both had interceptions.
 
Quarterback Quaterius Hawkins (Bastrop, Louisiana) was 8-of-26 for 148 yards and was sacked three times.
 
The Bobcats had 23 first downs and 424 yards of total offense. Gulf Coast had 12 first downs and 338 yards of total offense. 
 
In a scoreless game, the Bobcats fumbled the ball at their own 11-yard line late in the first quarter.
 
On the next play, MGCCC quarterback Austin Davidson hit Rico Dorsey for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Dylan Wasson's extra point made it 7-0 with five seconds to play in the first quarter.
 
Midway through the second quarter, Davidson connected with Jalen Bracey for a 64-yard touchdown pass. The snap was mishandled on the extra point, but the Bulldogs led 13-0 with 1:32 left in the second quarter.
 
The Bobcats took the ensuing kickoff and drove 69 yards in nine plays to get on the scoreboard. Robert Henry (Lumberton) scored on a 27-yard run. The extra point attempt was wide left and Jones trailed 13-6 with 3:17 to play in the first half.
 
Rawls intercepted a Davidson pass in the end zone on the next possession to end a Bulldog drive.
 
Jones then drove 67 yards in six plays and Yohan Thompson (Adams County Christian School) kicked a 26-yard field goal to make it 13-9 with 38 seconds left in the first half. A 67-yard pass from Hawkins to Kendall Coleman (Choctaw County) was the big play of the drive.
 
The Bobcats took the second half kickoff and went 72 yards in 11 plays to take its first lead of the game. Henry scored on an 8-yard run and Thompson's kick made 16-13 with 9:54 left in the third quarter.
 
The Bulldogs then drove 71 yards in 13 plays, but Wasson's 22-yard field goal attempt failed and the Bobcats maintained the 3-point lead.
 
Two possessions later, Gulf Coast sacked Hawkins and forced a fumble. Jace McCoy recovered for the Bulldogs at the JC 15 and returned it to the 4.
 
On the next play, Micah McCowan scored on a 4-yard run and Wasson's extra point made it 20-16 with 3:31 remaining in the third quarter.
 
But the Bobcats took the ensuing kickoff and went 75 yards in seven plays to regain the lead. Hawkins connected with Ashton Nickelberry (Brandon) on a 7-yard scoring pass and Thompson's conversion gave Jones a 23-20 lead with five seconds to play in the third quarter.
 
Gulf Coast quickly answered, driving 73 yards in seven plays. Davidson again found Bracey, this time on a 51-yard touchdown pass. Wasson's kick ended the scoring with 11:51 to play. Davidson completed 16-of-28 passes for 236 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
 
Midway through the final quarter, Jones drove from its own 20 to the Bulldog 34 where they faced a fourth and 7. But Hawkins was sacked by Ishmael Naylor to end the threat.
 
Jones had one final opportunity, moving to the Bulldog 49. But a Hawkins pass to the end zone fell incomplete on the game's final play.
 
The Bobcats end regular season play with a 6:30 p.m. game Oct. 28 at Copiah-Lincoln. The game will air on JCJC.TV with Mark Easley and Luke Johnson on the call.
 
Gulf Coast hosts Southwest on Oct. 30 in its final regular season game. Hinds travels to Pearl River on Oct. 28.