ELLISVILLE – Ninth-ranked Jones College is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2016.
 
The Bobcats opened MACCC South Division play last week with a 33-13 victory at East Central. Jones led the game 20-0 early in the second quarter and 27-0 going into the final five minutes of play.
 
But head coach Steve Buckley was disappointed in the way his team closed the game.
 
"You have to ask if they were prepared and focused and the answer is yes because you cannot start any better than we started in all three phases," he said Tuesday morning. "But at the 11:11 mark of the second quarter we are up 20-0 and we lost our mind. The rains came and we became a victim of society in my opinion."
 
Buckley explained that his team lost focus and made numerous mistakes.
 
"When these kids grow up in our society, they are given everything," he said. "If they are a dancer, they get a medal for fifth place. If they are a baseball player, they get a championship ring for winning a World Series and all they had to do was pay their money to get into the World Series.  It makes kids lose focus and it drives me absolutely insane. 
 
"I've thought about it all weekend and what we are dealing with is a society problem with kids. We've got a month to get them ready to play football when they come in as a freshman. They are immature and they can't stay focused."
 
Jones plays its final non-division game of the regular season when they visit Itawamba on Thursday. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the contest will air on JCJC.TV, WLAU-FM, 99.3 and SuperTalkLaurel.com with Mark Easley and Luke Johnson on the call.
 
The Bobcats had a quick start in last week's victory.
 
Running back La'Damian Webb (Opelika, Alabama) rushed 13 times for 131 yards and scored two touchdowns – both runs coming within the team's first six plays from scrimmage. Quarterback Quaterius Hawkins (Bastrop, Louisiana) scored on a 10-yard run with 11:11 left in the second quarter to make it 20-0.
 
That's when Buckley said the Bobcats lost their energy.
 
"It was probably the most embarrassing three quarters of football I've ever coached," he said of what happened after they took a three-touchdown lead. "We can be a good team and we put good plays on film. But at the same time to be really good, you've got to remain focused, whether it's raining or snowing or whether it's cold or hot. You've got to remain focused. It's a PlayStation society. If things don't go good on PlayStation, you just push 'restart' and start the game over."
 
The Bobcats took a 27-0 lead with 12:56 left in the third quarter on a 40-yard touchdown run by Robert Henry (Lumberton). But the Warriors got a pair of touchdowns in the game's final five minutes to make it 27-13 and then recovered an onside kick. But Kenderian Dixon's (Yazoo County) 65-yard interception return on the game's final play accounted for the final score.
 
Buckley said he knew the Warriors would not let up no matter the score.
 
"These kids have got to understand to play college football, you've got to be focused," he said. "East Central is a good football team and what we told them about East Central – and this is probably the thing that stirs me the most – is exactly what happened. East Central will never quit and they will play as hard as anybody we will play and if you don't remain focused, you are going to look around and it's going to be a close ballgame. 
 
"You have to remain focused and quit thinking everything is going to be given to you."
 
Wide receiver Bud Tolbert (Water Valley) ended the game with 104 yards on three catches, including an 89-yard reception. 
 
Defensively, Dixon and Drew Horton (Madison-Ridgeland Academy) each had nine tackles with Travor Randle (Greenwood) and Mike Cockream (Ray Brooks) adding six stops each. Cockream had three tackles for loss.
 
Webb and Dixon were named the MACCC's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively.
 
But Buckley added that this team has significant room for improvement.
 
"We've got guys that can make plays," he said. "It is what it is. But we've got freshmen that can't line up. We get caught with 12 men on the field because we can't focus. We get three kicks blocked because we decided, 'Oh, I've been taught to do this a certain way, but I'm going to do it my way.' Nothing is given to you anymore.
 
"Little League is over. You have to do what you are told to do and kids don't like to be told what to do. If they are going to step on the field for us Thursday night, they are going to do what they are told to do."
 
The Bobcats have had several players get banged up during the first three weeks. But Buckley will not let that and the fact that the team is taking its longest road trip of the year to Fulton be negative issues.
 
"We are a bruised up football team, but everybody is right now," he said. "There are no excuses. We are a third of the way through the season and you are supposed to be bruised up. But to go on the road, you must be focused. You can't let the distractions of leaving early, missing class, eating in a restaurant and driving for four hours mess you up. If you do, you won't win the football game."
 
The Indians are 1-2 on the season, but are two plays away from being 3-0. 
 
They lost 41-35 at Southwest when they allowed a punt return and a kickoff return for a touchdown. Last week, they dropped a 22-20 decision to Coahoma. Their only victory was 30-3 over Copiah-Lincoln on Sept. 9.
 
Itawamba is led by quarterback Dylan Faulk, who leads the MACCC and is fourth in the nation in passing. He has completed 83-of-118 passes (71 percent) for 868 yards (289.3 yards per game) and four touchdowns. Faulk is a 6-foot, 190-pound sophomore from Hernando.
 
His favorite target is Shamar Sandgren, who leads the conference and is second in the nation with 27 catches for 345 yards (115.0 yards per game) and four touchdowns. Sandgren is a 6-foot-2, 180-pound freshman from Savannah, Georgia, and is a reverse transfer from Tennessee-Chattanooga.
 
"Itawamba can be 3-0 right now," Buckley said. "They have an explosive football team and they like to throw the football. They are very multiple on defense. But I'm not worried about Itawamba, I'm worried about Jones and us being able to focus for four quarters and that's not being disrespectful towards Itawamba. They are a darn good football team. 
 
"But so many times as coaches, we get caught up in the opponent and we forget about ourselves. You have to learn to compete against yourself to be the best you can be every day."
 
The Bobcats resume MACCC South Division play on Sept. 30 when they return to Bobcat Stadium/Sim Cooley Field to host Hinds. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
 
Itawamba visits Northeast Mississippi on Sept. 30.