ELLISVILLE – Jones College head coach Steve Buckley expects a challenge when his No. 12 Bobcats host No. 9 Copiah-Lincoln this week.
 
"Well-coached. Well-disciplined," Buckley said of the Wolves. "They are a tough football team. They are very similar to us in scheme offensively and defensively and it should create an exciting game. We've been playing Co-Lin every year and it's always a battle and it will be no different on Thursday night."
 
The game will kick off at 7 p.m. on Thursday and will air on jcbobcats.com/watch with Mark Easley and Luke Johnson on the call.
 
The Bobcats enter the game at 2-1 overall, 0-1 in the MACCC South Division after dropping a 27-20 decision at No. 4 Mississippi Gulf Coast last week.
 
Co-Lin is also 2-1 overall, 1-0 in the division, with wins over Coahoma (47-0) and Hinds (48-0). Their lone loss was to Holmes (15-13). Co-Lin is allowing 5.0 points per game, which leads the MACCC and ranks fourth in the NJCAA.
 
The Bobcats had their chances last week in Perkinston.
 
Jones led 10-7 at halftime and came up with two quick pass interceptions deep in Bulldog territory to start the third quarter.
 
But the Bobcats could only muster one made field out of those two possessions to take a 13-7 lead.
 
Buckley said that was a key point in the game.
 
"The thing I emphasized to the football team on Friday and Sunday is that we have to play complementary offense and defense," he said. "When the defense creates turnovers in the red zone, we have to get seven points. We had two quick turnovers and we only got three points. When the offense flips the field and pins them inside the 20, we have to keep them pinned back."
 
"So many times in football, field position gets overlooked. To me, it's the name of the game. When two good teams play, it's about capitalizing on field position. And you take any game on Friday or Saturday or Sunday and you will see that field position is a deciding factor. The end result of that field position is what matters."
 
With the game tied 13-13 early in the fourth quarter, Gulf Coast was on the verge of scoring.
 
But Zechariah Parodi (Scott Central) forced a fumble. Jadan Aubert (Vacherie, La.) recovered for Jones and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown to give the Bobcats a 20-13 advantage with 11:15 left in the fourth quarter.
 
But the Bulldogs put together consecutive touchdown drives of 80 and 96 yards to come back and win the game.
 
Buckley was pleased with how hard his team played, but said the Bobcats have to improve.
 
"I'll say this. Our kids played their tails off and they played with great effort," he said. "We just didn't get it done in the fourth quarter and that's on me as a head coach and I accept that responsibility. We've got to be better offensively sustaining drives and be better defensively getting off the field in key situations.
 
"I thought we were better, at times, last Thursday night on both of those things."
 
The Bobcats led the game 10-7 at halftime and had outgained the Bulldogs, 190-120 in total yardage. But Jones could only manage 29 yards of offense in the second half, while MGCCC piled up 372 yards.
 
Buckley said the Bobcats had plays set up to make in the final half, but could not connect.
 
"We moved the ball effectively at times and we knew at halftime we may get a little pressure in the second half," he said. "We had some man-beaters dialed up and just did not hit them. We got a little blitz, but they didn't do a whole lot different. We made an adjustment to go to some man-beater routes and we just didn't hit 'em."
 
The Bobcats will play their final non-division game next week when they visit Holmes for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff on Sept. 26. Co-Lin hosts Southwest in a division game on that same night.