ELLISVILLE – The Jones College Bobcats will play the only unbeaten team remaining in the MACCC North Division this week.
 
The No. 7 Bobcats visit No. 11 Holmes for a 6:30 p.m. Thursday kickoff at Ras Branch Stadium. The game will air on jcobcats.com/watch with Mark Easley and Chuck Robertson on the call.

Tickets are $10 cash only for adults and $5 for students with valid ID.
 
Bobcat head coach Steve Buckley has been impressed with the Bulldogs, who are 4-0 overall and 2-0 in division play.
 
"They are explosive on offense," he said. "You just look at their scores. Their games are close at the half, but they find a way in the third and fourth quarters to blow it open. We have to be sound on defense and we can't give up explosive plays. On offense, we have to take the ball out of their hands as much as possible. We have to play field position because that's important in these kinds of games."
 
Holmes owns wins over Southwest (48-31), Copiah-Lincoln (15-13), Coahoma (42-23) and Northeast (41-7).
 
Last week, Holmes led Northeast 14-7 at halftime before pulling away for a big win.
 
Quarterback Chase Richardson (5-11, 190) completed 27-of-35 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns. He is averaging 190.8 yards per game through the air, which is second in the MACCC and eighth in the NJCAA. Jalon Townes (6-2, 221) and Kabron Purifoy (6-2, 250) each had seven tackles to top the Bulldog defense.
 
The Bobcats posted a 21-12 win over No. 9 Copiah-Lincoln last week.
 
Buckley was pleased with his team's performance.
 
"The thing we preached all week was let's play complementary football," he said. "When defense or special teams creates field position, let's get points. When we pin them inside the 10 or 20-yard line with the punt team, let's play good defense. I thought we accepted that challenge and played complementary defense.
 
"I don't think it's something that you think about all the time during a game. It's just something that's created and you sense the urgency of situations in a ballgame."
 
He pointed out that Jones managed to produce touchdowns when they had a chance.
 
"We were 3-for-3 in the red zone with three scores (touchdowns) and that's huge," he said. "That was the difference in the ballgame. Our defense stood up and made plays when we created field position. We were plus (1) in the turnover situation in the game and usually that's the team that wins."
 
Quarterback Blake Murphy (Plantation, Fla.) was 8-of-15 through the air for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Harrison Knight (Foley, Ala.) had three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown and Shawn Keyes (West Jones) had a 53-yard touchdown catch late in the game to seal the victory. Marlon Lindsey Jr. (West Jones) had three catches for 25 yards.
 
The Bobcats were limited to 196 yards of total offense, but Buckley is not dwelling on that.
 
"Offensively, you look at our stats – and I am not concerned about our stats," he said. "I am only concerned about the scoreboard at the end of the game. We are not producing like we have in the past for some reason. But if you look across the country, offenses are struggling this year, whether it's on Saturday or Sunday. It's just different this year.
 
"But we just have to continue to improve offensively and simplify some things and get our running game going. We just have to create some things offensively that are positive."
 
On defense, the Bobcats had several players to shine. D.J. Cloyd (Columbia) led the charge with eight tackles, Tyreke Snow (Newton) added seven and Josh Brown (Columbia), Chance Barron (Mendenhall) and Jonathan Wiltz (Mendenhall) each had six tackles. Isaiah Lindsey (West Jones) and Zechariah Parodi (Scott Central) had fumble recoveries and Chase Pinkston (Oak Grove) had an interception. 
 
Buckley said each week the Bobcats have different players to step up.
 
"This is a team sport and our kids understand that" he said. We are playing a lot of kids. Our defense is flying around and I thought we did a better job of tackling the other night. Overall, we are making progress as a football team."
 
This week marks the halfway point of the season and Holmes and No. 4 Mississippi Gulf Coast are the only two undefeated teams in conference play.
 
Buckley said that's just life in the MACCC.
 
"You've got parity throughout the league, that's what we want and it's the best thing for the state," he said. "Anybody can beat anybody on any given night and you've got to be ready to play each week."
 
Buckley expects a close game when the Bobcats and Bulldogs square off in Goodman.
 
"You have two good football teams and we are going on the road," he said. "We have to accept that challenge and play smart football. We can't get caught up in the emotions of this game."
 
There is a conference mandated open date next week.
 
Jones will not play again until they visit Hinds on Oct. 10. Holmes hosts Mississippi Delta on Oct. 10.