ELLISVILLE – Jones College led No. 6 Gulf Coast 21-14 at halftime here Thursday night at Bobcat Stadium/Sim Cooley Field.
 
But the Bulldogs outscored the Bobcats 14-3 in the second half and posted a 28-24 victory.
 
Jones drops to 2-1 overall, 0-1 in the MACCC South Division. Gulf Coast is now 3-0 overall and 1-0 in division play.
 
Down by a touchdown, Gulf Coast took the second half kickoff and drove 75 yards in 15 plays and ran 6:00 off the clock. Landon Varnes connected with Jayden Acker on a 2-yard touchdown pass. Aideen Guinn's extra point tied it at 21-21 with 9:00 left in the third quarter.
 
Jones answered on the next drive when Christian Baglione's (Northwest Rankin) 31-yard field goal put the Bobcats up 24-21 with 5:28 left in the third quarter. The kick capped a 58-yard, eight-play drive.
 
Two possessions later, the Bulldogs got a 73-yard touchdown pass from Varnes to Mason Beverly to cap an 85-yard, three-play drive. Guinn's extra point made it 28-24 with 38 seconds left in the third quarter.
 
The Bobcats were forced to punt on their next two drives.
 
Their final drive started at their own 12-yard line with 1:29 left to play. They gained one first down, but then turned ball over on downs at their own 24 with 30 seconds remaining.
 
The Bulldogs opened the scoring when Christian Bingham intercepted a pass and ran it back 21 yards for a touchdown. Guinn's extra point made it 7-0 with 9:04 left in the first quarter.
 
Jones responded with a 79-yard, 11-play drive. Ky'Yon Harris (Union) scored on a 12-yard run and Baglione's extra point tied it with 3:20 left in the first quarter.
 
The Bobcats took the lead on their next possession, driving 59 yards in 10 plays. Harris did the honors again, this time from two yards to make it 14-7 with 11:43 left in the first half. 
 
Two possessions later, the Bulldogs tied it with a 91-yard, three-play drive. Alan Woods scored on a 13-yard run and Guinn's kick made it 14-14 with 6:14 left in the second quarter. A 64-yard pass from Varnes to Woods was the big play of the drive.
 
The Bobcats quickly regained the lead, driving 77 yards in six plays. Quarterback Jevarion Glover (Amanda Elzy) scored on a 17-yard run and Baglione's kick made it 21-14 with 3:34 left before halftime.
 
The Bobcats had two 100-yard rushers on the night. Harris carried 20 times for 130 yards and two touchdowns, giving him seven touchdowns on the year. Glover carried 17 times for 129 yards and a score. Glover also competed 14-of-22 passes for 123 yards to account for 252 yards of total offense.
 
TK Keyes (Taylorsville) had eight receptions for 74 yards.
 
Defensively, Tay James (Mendenhall) had a huge game for Jones, posting 15 tackles. Jeremiah Tatum (Columbia) had eight tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. Isaiah Lindsey (West Jones) had four tackles, one tackle for loss, one quarterback sack, one pass breakup and one quarterback hurry. Delarrius Hayes (Magee) had four tackles, half a tackle for loss and an interception.
 
Varnes completed 14-of-25 passes for 268 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for the Bulldogs. Woods rushed 22 times for 84 yards and a touchdown and had four receptions for 82 yards. Beverly had three catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.
 
La'Zeric Johnson and Elijah Owens each had 11 tackles for the Bulldogs.
 
The Bobcats had 392 yards of total offense. Gulf Coast had 399 yards of total offense.
 
Jones was penalized eight times for 69 yards and Gulf Coast 12 times for 111 yards.
 
Jones returns to division play when they visit No. 7 Copiah-Lincoln for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff on Thursday, Sept. 18. Gulf Coast hosts Southwest Sept. 20 at 7 o'clock.