ELLISVILLE – When Jones College and Pearl River get together in any sporting event, the competition is always intense.
 
That will be the case Saturday afternoon at Bobcat Stadium/Sim Cooley Field when the 5th-ranked Bobcats host the Wildcats in the 92nd edition of the "Catfight." Kickoff is at 3 p.m. and the Homecoming contest will air on JCJC.TV and SuperTalkLaurelFM.com with Mark Easley and Luke Johnson on the call. To purchase tickets to the game, visit jcbobcats.com/tickets.

The Bobcats lead the series, 47-42-2.

Jones enters the game at 5-0 overall, 3-0 in the MACCC South Division. Pearl River is 3-2 overall, 1-1 in division play and is coming off a big 24-14 victory over Mississippi Gulf Coast.
 
Bobcat head coach Steve Buckley expects quite a battle this weekend against an experienced Wildcat team.
 
"Pearl River is another good football team," he said Tuesday morning. "This league is about parity and I think that's what the Presidents want and that's what they've got. Pearl River has 50 guys on their roster that are second or third-year players. That means there are only 15 freshmen on that team.
 
"They have a lot of depth, a lot of experience and a lot of older guys. We say all the time, 'The older, the better,' and they are an older football team."
 
In division play, the Wildcats dropped a 14-0 decision to Hinds in addition to its win over MGCCC. They own non-division wins over Holmes, 49-24, and Northeast, 20-13. They dropped a 21-14 decision to unbeaten and 4th-ranked Northwest. PRCC is receiving votes in the latest NJCAA Division I poll.
 
Offensively, the Wildcats are led by quarterback Lawson Pratt, a transfer from Samford. Pratt is a 6-foot-1, 200-pound sophomore from Tuscaloosa. He has completed 85-of-129 passes for 749 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions. He's also rushed for five scores. 
 
Running backs Nick Milsap and Qavonte Swanigan lead the rushing attack. Milsap, a 5-foot-11, 198-pound sophomore from Oak Grove, has 289 yards and three touchdowns and Swanigan, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound sophomore from West Marion, has rushed for 209 yards. Wide receiver Christopher Holifield, a 5-foot-10, 191-pound sophomore from Mobile, Alabama, tops the team with 31 receptions for 289 yards.
 
Justin Jefferson, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound sophomore linebacker from Memphis, Tennessee, is far and away PRCC's leading tackler on the year with 44 stops. He has committed to play for Alabama. Bryan Whitehead II, a 6-foot-2, 236-pound sophomore lineman from Bartlett, Tennessee, has 6.5 sacks.
 
Buckley said the Wildcats present plenty of problems for Jones.
 
"They have a transfer quarterback, who is playing well, and they are very multiple on offense," he said. "Defensively, they play extremely hard. They are a well-coached football team who is going to get after you. It's another tough week for the Bobcats. There are no breaks and I think everybody in our league says the same thing. You just have to get ready to play every week."
 
Jones is coming off another close contest.
 
The Bobcats led Hinds 24-0 in the third quarter, but the Eagles came back to tie it up at 24-24 in the final quarter. 
 
Hinds had ball possession, facing a third and 2 at its own 31-yard line with just over two minutes remaining, but Bobcat defensive back Travor Randle (Greenwood) dropped Eagle running back Jeffrey Pittman for a 2-yard loss to force a punt.
 
Bobcat wide receiver Jerry Johnson Jr. (Pearl) returned the punt 34 yards to the Hinds 24. Two plays later, running back Robert Henry (Lumberton) scored on a 17-yard run with 1:28 left to give Jones a 31-24 victory.
 
Buckley said the Bobcats made a lot of mistakes, but made enough plays to come out on top.
 
"The biggest thing is that you go on the road and get a win," he said. "That's never an easy accomplishment. All three phases came together for us at the end. The defense got a stop, special teams had a big punt return and the offense stuck it in. There is a lot to build on from that point. 
 
"The negative to the game was that we made too many unforced errors. It was kids not listening and doing what they were asked to do. It's like I told them in the team meeting yesterday (Monday), we had 19 plays in the first half and 19 plays in the second half where one guy just did not do what he is supposed to do. And it's going to come back and bite you in the rear if you are not careful."
 
With the Bobcats leading 21-0 at halftime, Buckley warned his team about Hinds' ability to come back. He pointed out their game against Northwest where the Rangers led 24-7 in the third quarter and 31-14 midway through the fourth quarter, but had to hang on to beat the Eagles, 31-28.
 
"Let's give Hinds some credit, too. They are a good football team," he said. "They are an experienced football team with a bunch of guys who have played a bunch of snaps. We told our team at halftime that Northwest was up three or four scores on Hinds and they held on to win, 31-28. We were up at Hinds in the Covid year (2020) and led 16-0 and we lose the ballgame (18-16)."
 
"The guys had plenty of warning. I don't think it's a lack of effort. It's just listening and executing. I told them yesterday when you listen and do what you are asked to do that's called execution. We are not executing with 11 guys like we need to."
 
Henry ended the game with 131 yards on 29 carries. Randle and Jonathan Wiltz (Columbia) each had six tackles with Randle also recording two tackles for loss, a sack and pass breakup.
 
In division play, the Bobcats had beaten Copiah-Lincoln, 23-17, and East Central, 17-14, leading into the Hinds' game.
 
Henry now leads the nation with 780 yards rushing, an average of 156 yards per game. He also tops the NJCAA in touchdowns with 13. The next closest player has eight rushing touchdowns.
 
Buckley was pleased with Henry's performance, but says he can do better.
 
"I told Robert all week that he was going to have to be patient because Hinds is very good up front and he was not going to get 10 yards a carry," he said. "I told him he had to be patient and take care of the ball. I thought he played well. I thought he was really good in the running game, but terrible in the passing game. I told him yesterday if you want to be a complete back at this level and the next level, you've got to help us in the passing game whether you are getting the ball or not."
 
It's also a different routine for the Bobcats this week as they are playing their only Saturday regular season game. Buckley said they have discussed the difference with his team.
 
"With our bunch, if you change something by 10 minutes, it throws them off," he said. "We've changed this week (of preparation) by two days. It cannot be a factor. We started talking about it last week, about how we were going to practice this week and what we were going to do. It's going to give us a little time to heal up some people yesterday and today. We've just got to have good work days Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and get ready to play Saturday."
 
The Bobcats have a quick turnaround next week when they will host Southwest on Oct. 13 at 7 o'clock in their final regular season home game.
 
Pearl River hosts Copiah-Lincoln on Oct. 13.