ELLISVILLE – No. 5 Jones College is 4-0 on the season, while Hinds is 2-2.
 
But both teams are 2-0 in MACCC South Division play and that's all that matters to Bobcat head coach Steve Buckley as the two teams get ready for Thursday's game in Raymond. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. at Gene Murphy Field at Joe Renfroe Stadium and the contest will air on WLAU-FM, 99.3, and SuperTalkLaurel.com. 
 
The game can be seen on hindsccsports.net/channel-1. The game will be shown on a tape delay basis on JCJC.TV because of internet connection at the stadium.

Bobcat fans traveling to the game are encouraged to purchase tickets online and in advance at sports.hindscc.edu. No cash will be accepted at the gate - only debit or credit cards - and the price goes up at the gate.
 
"It's like we told the team Sunday night, everything is from scratch," Buckley said Tuesday morning. We are tied with Hinds right now. That's the bottom line. What you do with the North has no bearing on the end results as far as the state. The crossover with the North and South has a lot to do with national polls."
 
The Bobcats defeated East Central last week, 17-14. Jones started the season with a 44-0 win over Itawamba, beat No. 8 East Mississippi 42-28 and knocked off Copiah-Lincoln, 23-17.
 
The Eagles lost 20-3 to Northeast to open the season and came up just short vs. No. 4 Northwest in a 31-28 loss. But Hinds has beaten East Central 28-23 and Pearl River 14-0 in its last two games.
 
Hinds relies on running back Jamarian Samuels on offense. Samuels, a 5-foot-11 sophomore from Ocala, Florida, averages 107.5 yards per game, which is second in the nation behind JC's Robert Henry (Lumberton). Running back Jeffrey Pittman, a 5-foot-11 sophomore from Taylorsville, averages 49.3 yards per game. 
 
Quarterback Ruben Lee II, a 6-foot-1 sophomore from Moss Point, has completed 50-of-95 passes for 501 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
 
On defense, lineman Jaylan Ware leads the team in tackles with 19 and has 8 TFLs and 2.5 sacks. Lineman Da'Vonta Jackson has 18 tackles, 5.5 TFLs and 2.0 sacks and end Reginald Shepherd has 18 tackles, 3.5 TFLs and 2.0 sacks. Ware is a 6-foot-2 sophomore from Starkville, Jackson is a 6-foot-4 sophomore from Greensboro, Alabama, and Shepherd is a 6-foot-4 sophomore from Sebastopol.
 
Buckley said head coach Larry Williams' Eagles are one of the most experienced teams in the MACCC.
 
"From a standpoint of going against Hinds, they have an exceptional defense," he said. "I think they start one freshman on their whole team – an outside receiver. They have a roster full of third-year guys. Larry and his staff have done a great job of recruiting. 
 
"They are a physical, physical team and they have two outstanding running backs that can be physical and take it to the house from anywhere on the field."
 
Buckley is also concerned about his team being away from home for just the second time this year.
 
"We are going on the road for our second trip," he said. "We've done it once, so hopefully, we understand what it's like to go on the road. It's going to be a heckuva ballgame, I'm sure."
 
The Bobcats had a hard-fought, three-point home win over East Central last week.
 
DK Metcalf (Greenville Christian) had a crucial interception midway through the fourth quarter and Trent Howell (George County) clinched the game with a 29-yard run when the Bobcats faced a third and 20 in the final minutes.
 
Henry continued his torrid pace on the ground, piling up 146 yards on 24 carries. He tops the nation with 649 yards, an average of 162.3 yards per game.
 
Buckley was pleased with the win, but says the Bobcats have plenty to work on.
 
"Getting to 4-0 was huge," he said. "That game was a typical East Central/Jones game. They are a well-coached team and play extremely hard and that did not surprise me at any point in that game. I thought we did not execute well enough and we had too many negative plays, especially on offense, and we gave up one big play on defense. 
 
"I thought we got behind the chains again for the second game in a row. There are not a whole lot of calls for third and 10-plus (yards to go). I just think we have to clean that up and stay in front of the chains."
 
A key factor in last week's win was the kicking game. 
 
Placekicker Yohan Thompson (Adams Country Christian School) was 2-for-2 on extra points and made a 43-yard field goal. Punter Brody Pierce (Starkville Academy) averaged 37.6 yards per kick on five punts.
 
"That turned out to be the deciding factor in the ballgame," Buckley said of Thompson's field goal. "We struggled a little bit in the kicking game with our kicker/punter early in the season, but we challenged them after the first two weeks and they've really improved – both kicking and punting. That's something we work on every day."
 
One more bright spot was the play of younger players, such as freshmen linebackers Jonathan Wiltz (Columbia) and Raymond Collins (Harrison Central). Wiltz led the team with nine tackles and Collins had five tackles, 2.0 TFLs and 1.5 sacks. 
 
"It's like we say every week, the young kids just have got to keep coming," Buckley said. "I think four games into the season, you see a difference from the first game with the younger kids. Hopefully, in games five, six and seven, you will keep seeing that. It usually takes about half a season for the freshmen to grow up and get used to the speed of the game and basically develop. It's really not physically, it's more mentally."
 
Also last week, sophomore quarterback Alan Follis (West Jones) completed 12-of-18 passes for 149 yards and a score and sophomore wide receiver Ashton Nickelberry (Brandon) had three receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore linebacker Javarian Jenkins (Oak Grove) and sophomore tackle Josh Belk (Fort Lawn, South Carolina) each had six tackles.
 
The Bobcats will play their only Saturday regular season game of the season next week when they host Pearl River for Homecoming in a 3 p.m. kickoff on Oct. 8.
 
Hinds visits Southwest on Oct. 6.