ELLISVILLE – The 12th-ranked Jones College Bobcats have little time to reflect on last week's 47-23 loss to No. 7 East Mississippi.
 
The Bobcats (1-1) host No. 10 Copiah-Lincoln (2-0) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Bobcat Stadium/Sim Cooley Field in the MACCC South Division opener for both teams. The contest will air on JCJC.TV and WLAU-FM, 99.3 SuperTalk Laurel with Mark Easley and Luke Johnson on the call.
 
The Wolves defeated East Mississippi 23-20 two weeks ago and hammered Mississippi Delta 34-7 last week.
 
Jones head coach Steve Buckley knows his squad will face a challenge from the Glenn Davis-coached Wolves.
 
"They are a good football team," he said Tuesday morning. "Their quarterback (Devon Tott) is really, really good. He's mature and played against us last year. He can beat you with his legs and his arm. They have a good running back (Johnnie Daniels), they are outstanding at wide receiver and their offensive line is good.
 
"Defensively, they are active and can run on the back end. They are just a solid football team.  Their schemes are sound, they are very solid on offense and defense and they are very well-coached. Glenn does a great job there and has been there a long time."
 
Davis is in his 20th year at Co-Lin and has compiled a 101-75 record.
 
Tott, a 6-foot-2, 183-pound sophomore from Mandeville, Louisiana, has completed 41-of-59 passes for 533 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Daniels, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound sophomore from Crystal Springs, has carried 31 times for 166 yards and two scores. Carlos Martin, a 5-foot-9, 151-pound sophomore from Laurel, has seven catches for 117 yards and Dakota Thomas, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound sophomore from Snellville, Georgia, has nine receptions for 84 yards. 
 
Defensively, Billy Pullen, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound lineman from Kaufman, Texas, has four tackles for loss, three sacks and two forced fumbles. 
 
Last week, the Bobcats scored touchdowns on their first two possessions and led 14-7. But the Lions never let up and came back to grab the victory.
 
Buckley said his team gave a good effort, but he shoulders the blame for the loss.
 
"We went on the road and got beat by a good football team," he said. "They were better than us on Thursday night and I did a poor job of getting us ready. That's on me and not on the kids. The kids played hard. I've got to do a better job on coaching them and getting them ready."
 
Jones trailed 34-23 and moved to the Lion 35-yard line late in the third quarter with a chance to cut into the lead. But the Bobcats fumbled and EMCC returned it 66 yards for a touchdown to take a 40-23 lead.
 
The Bobcats have six turnovers through two games and Buckley said that they must improve on that statistic.
 
"We are minus one on turnovers for the year and you need to be on the plus side to be a winning football team," he said. "We had too many negative plays last week on offense that were self-inflicted. We had 13 negative plays and only one of them was because the defense won. 
 
"I've got to do a better job of getting the kids to understand what they need to do."
 
Buckley said the team practiced well on Monday and he hopes that continues this week. He also pointed out that East Mississippi lost to Jones (42-28) early last season and rebounded to win the MACCC.
 
"We had a good day on Monday," he said. "The message to them from me was we got beat by a good football team and we are 1-1. Last year, we beat East Mississippi by about the same score they beat us and they came back and won the state championship. Our goal is to get ready for Co-Lin and I thought yesterday we had a good day of prep. Hopefully, today will be better."
 
Buckley said the keys to success this week are clear.
 
"Offensively, we have to eliminate turnovers and negative plays," he said. "Defensively, we have to contain their quarterback. He can hurt you. We've got to get pressure on him, but at the same time, it's a double-edge sword. You try to pressure an athletic guy and he can make you pay with his legs."
 
Jones goes back on the road next for a division matchup at East Central. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 28.
 
Co-Lin hosts Southwest on Sept. 28.
  Six people will be inducted into the Jones College Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday.
 
Ronnie Adams (football, track), Trent Giambrone (baseball), Josh Heird (soccer, track), Cecilia Lawn (softball), Tatyana Lofton (women's basketball) and Joby Moss (cheerleading) will be inducted. 
 
There will be a banquet at 5 p.m. in A.B. Howard Gymnasium in honor of the group and the inductees will be recognized during halftime of the football game.