By Shawn Wansley
JCJC Sports Information Director

ELLISVILLE – Darrell Leopold believes the Jones County Junior College Bobcats have made tremendous progress since the start of the season.

And that is hard to argue with, considering JCJC has won four straight games and finds itself on top of the MACJC South Division standings with a 4-0 record.

“We are definitely gaining more confidence as a team,” said Leopold, the 6-foot-3, 330-pound starting center for head coach Eddie Pierce’s Bobcats. “Everybody is putting both feet in and they are believing in the team concept and no individual play. That will take us to the next level.”

JCJC, 4-2 overall, is fresh off a 27-10, road upset of the then 10th-ranked Pearl River Community College Wildcats. Leopold said the Bobcats felt good heading into the game and never lost faith during the contest.

“The win over Pearl River was big,” he said, while relaxing in the Bobcat Fieldhouse on Tuesday afternoon. “Our confidence was already high, but that did a lot for us. It’s a big rivalry game and anytime you have a big rivalry game, no matter what the records are, there is going to be a lot of competition.

“The defense really stepped up a lot last week. They were really on their ‘A’ game. The offense put up points, too. It was just a big confidence booster for everybody and it assures us that we are on our way.”

The Bobcats seek their fifth straight victory when they travel to face the Southwest Mississippi Community College Bears at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

“Right now, we are just taking it one week at a time and our next opponent is Southwest,” said Leopold. “At the same time, it’s like Coach always tells us, ‘We can go as far as we let ourselves take us.’

“If we keep doing the little things, keep the whole team aspect with no individual play, and play together, we can be really good. We can go all the way and win a championship. We’ve got the talent, but we‘ve just got to stay together.”

Leopold knows the Bears will present a challenge this week.

Southwest enters the game at 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the South Division. The Bears are still alive for a playoff berth, it’s Homecoming in Summit and the Bobcats can expect a hostile atmosphere.

“You can’t take them lightly because they are our next opponent,” he said. “The next game on the schedule is always the most important game. They are not a bad team at all. They have had their ups and downs like we all have.

“Their defense is a little different. They run a 3-3 (3-3-5), but it’s nothing I don’t think we can handle.”

Leopold arrived on the JCJC campus from just a few miles up Interstate 59. He played on Laurel High School’s 2007 Class 4A state championship team before deciding to attend Jones.

He says it’s been a very enjoyable experience, with his friends and family, especially his mother, Deborah, being able to make the short drive and watch him play each week.

“I don’t know what I’ll do when I go to a four-year college,” he said with a smile. “They (family and friends) really help me. My mother prays for me all the time, she calls me all the time and she pops up to visit whenever she wants to. Sometimes, that’s too much!

“But it’s nice to have your friends and family right down the road.”

Leopold said the experience he gained last year as a freshman has been invaluable. He said it’s been a positive carryover into the 2009 season.

“Being a sophomore, you know how fast everything moves along,” he said. “After my freshman season, when it was over, we had only played nine games and I was like, ‘Man, that went by fast.’ Now as a sophomore, you know how precious each week and each game is because it goes by so fast.

“You take heed of every game and every week and play with a purpose because it is such a short and fast season.”

Leopold, who is majoring in computer engineering, but may switch to accounting, is the anchor of the Bobcat offensive line. The play cannot start until he snaps the ball and he loves being in the middle of the action, along with his teammates to either side, left guard Evan Shaw and right guard Preston Cochran.

“They usually call the center the ‘quarterback’ of the O-line because you are making the calls, like what type of defense they are in, and you are calling out ‘protection’ and who has to block who on a particular play. It’s a big responsibility. I was moved to guard out of high school last year, but I am back this year.

“I really enjoy being a center. As long as I got my right-hand man, Preston, and my left-hand man, Evan, it’s OK. They make it pretty easy for me.”

Leopold will definitely continue playing football after he leaves JCJC. He qualified academically out of high school, but elected to come to Jones in order to play quickly.

“I am receiving letters and will sort out offers when they start rolling in,” he said. “I am going to transfer at the end of this semester to a four-year university, but in the spring semester I want to come back and officially graduate from JCJC.”

But for now, Leopold and the Bobcats are concentrating on Southwest and, hopefully, continuing play into the postseason. He thinks the Bobcats will be able to accomplish that.

“We have a bullseye on us right now, but that is where we want to be,” he said. “We want to be on top with everybody chasing us. We plan to keep on making that bullseye even bigger every week.

“Every week we are progressing. We are trying to stay on top and, hopefully, host a playoff game.”

Saturday’s game will air on www.jcjc.tv and on WGDQ-FM, 93.1, with Lance Pittman calling the play-by-play and Mark Easley providing color commentary. The pregame show begins at 2:30 p.m.