ELLISVILLE – Jones College struck early with a defensive touchdown and used a balanced offensive attack to hold off Northeast, 31-28, Thursday night at Bobcat Stadium/Sim Cooley Field.
The Bobcats (2-1) led for nearly the entire game after Delarrius Hayes returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown just 1:21 into the contest. Jones later built a 10-point halftime advantage and answered twice in the third quarter before holding off a late Northeast (1-2) push.
Quarterback Jevarion Glover completed 23 of 28 passes for 304 yards and a touchdown and ran for 63 yards, while CJ Rush rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
Rush has scored an MACCC-leading seven rushing touchdowns through three games after having just two in eight games as a freshman.
Jet Henderson and Kaiden Smith each surpassed 100 receiving yards. Henderson finished with three receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown, while Smith caught six passes for 103 yards.
Hayes gave Jones a 7-0 lead with his 31-yard interception return with 13:39 remaining in the opening quarter.
Northeast answered on its first offensive possession, driving 75 yards in eight plays before Xae Mayes connected with Andrew Winfun for a 3-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.
The Bobcats put together an 11-play, 71-yard drive that ended with Wyatt Jones' 26-yard field goal with 8:57 remaining in the half. After the Jones defense forced a stop, the Bobcats followed with one of their longest sustained drives of the night.
Jones marched 90 yards in nine plays, with Rush scoring from 3 yards out to extend the lead to 17-7 with 1:48 remaining.
Northeast responded before halftime. Mayes capped a seven-play, 55-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Walker with 23 seconds remaining, trimming the Jones advantage to 17-14 at the break.
The Bobcats needed less than a minute to answer coming out of halftime.
Jones covered 62 yards in three plays on its opening possession of the third quarter, and Rush finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to make it 24-14 with 13:55 remaining in the period.
Northeast again pulled within three when Mayes found Jeremiah Thomas for a 5-yard touchdown with 9:49 remaining in the third.
Jones delivered another answer.
Glover connected with Henderson for a 55-yard touchdown with 7:00 left in the third quarter, completing a seven-play, 84-yard drive and pushing the Bobcats' lead back to 31-21.
The touchdown was Jones' final score, but it proved to be enough.
Northeast made things interesting midway through the fourth quarter when backup quarterback Brody Whittaker connected with Charles Stevenson for an 80-yard touchdown one that bounced out of the hands of a Bobcat defender and into Stevenson's. The one-play scoring drive cut the Jones lead to 31-28 with 8:23 remaining.
Jones kept Northeast off the scoreboard the rest of the way to preserve the three-point victory, running out the final 8:15 of the fourth quarter. On the final play, Glover ran backwards for 51 yards before being tackled to end the game.
Jones finished with 409 yards of total offense and 26 first downs. The Bobcats ran 71 plays and held the football for 33:56 compared with 26:04 for Northeast. Jones converted 8 of 15 third downs and 2 of 3 fourth-down attempts.
Northeast finished with 422 yards despite running 15 fewer offensive plays. The Tigers rushed for 155 yards and threw for 267.
Mayes completed 14 of 25 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. He also led Northeast with 56 rushing yards on 10 carries. Whittaker's lone pass attempt went for the 80-yard fourth-quarter touchdown to Stevenson.
Jones' defense recorded two sacks and produced the game's only interception, with Hayes turning the takeaway directly into the Bobcats' first touchdown.
Arterus Moffett had a team-high eight tackles, a breakup and a blocked kick.
The Bobcats welcome rival Pearl River to Ellisville next Thursday, Sept. 17 for the 96th edition of the "Cat Fight." Jones leads the all-time series 51-42-2 and has won the last nine meetings.
Tickets are $11 online at jcbobcats.com/tickets or $15/$16 cash/card at the gate. The game will stream on jcbobcats.com/watch.
