ELLISVILLE – Seventh-rated Jones College lost its first game of the season last week at Mississippi Gulf Coast.
 
But the Bobcats still have a great deal at stake this fall.
 
Jones College travels to No. 3 and undefeated Northwest in an MACCC semifinal game at 2 p.m. Saturday. The contest will air on JCJC.TV, WLAU-FM, 99.3, and SuperTalkLaurelFM.com.
 
Bobcat head coach Steve Buckley said the team met several hours after the game and put the 38-24 loss to the Bulldogs behind them.
 
"We had a team meeting on Friday morning," he said Tuesday. "I told them we have got to be able to handle adversity. This is the first taste of adversity we've had this year and it doesn't taste good. Everybody handles it differently. There is a time to cry and a time to laugh is what I told them and we are not going to sit around and wallow in this thing. We got beat by the better football team Thursday night, but at the same time I think we are a good football team.
 
"We got away from it this weekend. I told the kids to get away from each other, get away from the coaches and let's get back Monday and go to work. They came back Monday, we met yesterday and we are going to have a good practice today."
 
The Rangers have been impressive all season, led by quarterback Ren Hefley, running backs Jamarien Bracey and Cayden Betts and wide receiver DT Sheffield on offense and linebacker Sam Brumfield and defensive back Rontavious Person on defense.
 
Hefley is a 6-foot, 200-pound redshirt sophomore from Little Rock, Arkansas, who transferred in from Presbyterian College. He has completed 151-of-229 passes for 1,866 yards, which ranks sixth in the NJCAA, and has thrown for 18 touchdowns, which is second nationally. 
 
Bracey is a 6-foot-1, 250-pound sophomore from Bryant, Arkansas, and Betts is a 6-foot, 220-pound sophomore from Corinth. Bracey averages 64.1 yards per game and has scored seven touchdowns and Betts averages 58.6 yards per game and has scored five touchdowns. Sheffield is a 5-foot-9, 170-pound sophomore from Corinth. He averages five catches per game and has nine touchdowns.
 
Buckley said the Rangers' offense presents problems for a defense.
 
"They have two big backs and they are physical on the offensive line," he said. "They have Sheffield back at wide receiver and we've played him for two years and the other receivers can also play. The quarterback is a guy who has transferred in in the same line they've always had."
 
On defense, Brumfield is a 5-foot-11, 225-pound sophomore from Pearl who leads the team in tackles with 71 and Person is a 5-foot-10, 205-pound sophomore from Oxford who is second with 63 tackles.
 
Buckley said the Rangers' defense is stout. 
 
"Defensively, they are tough to move the ball against," he said. "They are huge up front and very talented in the back end. The kicking game is solid and there are no holes in that team at all. What they have been able to do there and sustain the last five years or so is pretty remarkable."
 
Jones leads the series vs. Northwest, 31-18. The two teams split games in 2021 with Jones winning in the regular season 31-9 and the Rangers winning in Ellisville in the playoffs, 26-20. The Rangers went on to defeat Hinds 56-21 in last year's MACCC championship game.
 
Buckley said head coach Benjy Parker's Rangers and the Bobcats are familiar with each other.
 
"It is the same team we played last year and I'm sure Benjy feels the same about us," he said. "We had two really good battles last year. We won one and they won one. I told the team Monday that if you look at our last four games against them we are 2-2 against each other.
 
"There are a lot of similarities in our two philosophies of the way we run our programs. I think you see that on the field and I think you will see a heck of a football game on Saturday. We are excited to go to Senatobia. It's not what we wanted, but we are going to get these kids ready to play."
 
In last week's loss to Gulf Coast, the Bobcat scored touchdowns on its first three possessions, got a field goal on the fourth possession and led 24-17 at halftime.
 
But the Bulldogs scored touchdowns on its first three possessions of the third quarter and went on to the victory.
 
Gulf Coast ended the game with 495 yards of total offense, converted 7-of-11 third downs, 2-of-2 fourth downs and only punted once.
 
"Give Gulf Coast all of the credit," Buckley said. "They are a good football program, good football team and a good school. It started out as a shootout and it ended up with them firing more shots than we did. You've got to give their quarterback, receivers, running back and offensive line credit. They did a heck of a job converting third and fourth downs
 
"Uncharacteristically, we could not get off the field on defense. I thought we were ready and the kids played extremely hard. I thought we had good plans on both sides of the ball. Sometimes, the football gods just don't line up for you."
 
In the game, quarterback DJ Smith (Greenville Christian) completed 8-of-14 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown and also rushed seven times for 88 yards. Quarterback Alan Follis (West Jones) was 7-of-11 through the air for 83 yards and two touchdowns. Kendall Coleman (Choctaw County) had six catches for 77 yards and a score, Qua Sanders (West Lowndes) had five receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown and Ashton Nickelberry (Brandon) had two catches for 26 yards and a touchdown.
 
On defense, Ty Rawls (Wetumpka, Alabama) had 10 tackles, an interception and breakup and Travor Randle (Greenwood) had 10 tackles. Raymond Collins (Harrison Central) had eight tackles and Javarian Jenkins (Oak Grove) had seven stops and one TFL. 
 
The Bobcats came up short, but Buckley said they are looking forward to postseason play.
 
"I'm very proud of our kids and the regular season we had," he said. "We just did not get it done last week when you would like to finish 9-0. We finished 8-1, we are a good football team and we are going to get ready to go on the road. It's not what we wanted, but sometimes in life you don't get what you want."
 
In Saturday's other MACCC semifinal contest, East Mississippi goes to Gulf Coast. If Gulf Coast wins, then they will host the MACCC championship game on Nov. 12. If Jones beats Northwest and East Mississippi defeats Gulf Coast, Jones will host the championship game.