By Shawn Wansley
JCJC Sports Information Director

ELLISVILLE – It is pretty much cut and dried when it comes to Saturday’s football game between Jones County Junior College and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

The winner will claim the South Division title, while the loser will finish second and still make the playoffs.

Bobcat head coach Eddie Pierce is quite pleased for his team to be in this position. JCJC dropped its first two games of the season (non-division games to Itawamba and East Mississippi), but has since won six straight games, including five games in the division.

“I think a lot of people had written us off six weeks ago,” said Pierce. “It is a real tribute to our assistant coaches and players to be where we are now. They bought in to what we were doing and we’ve turned it around.

“We took it kind of personal when people wrote us off. Our kids have battled back.”

The Bobcats, ranked No. 14, bring a 6-2 overall record into the game, while fifth-rated Gulf Coast is 7-1. Both teams are 5-0 in division play. The Bulldogs are riding a seven-game winning streak of their own, having dropped their opener to Northwest (30-25).

There is no secret to the success of the Gulf Coast team. They are a run-oriented offense, piling up a whopping 329.1 yards per game on the ground, which not only leads the state, but the entire nation.

They are led by sophomore running back Vick Ballard (5-11, 207), who leads the state and ranks third in the nation with 157.0 yards per game on the ground. The Mississippi State University commitment also tops the state and nation in touchdowns with 16.

“They don’t beat themselves,” Pierce said of Gulf Coast. “They just line up and run the ball right at you. They shorten the game and you do not get a lot of opportunities to touch the ball. They just do a great job offensively of hammering the ball right down your throat.

“We are going to have to do a good job defensively. We are going to have to move around some because they will be bigger than we are. I have been proud of the defense and we have been able to play more kids defensively the last couple of weeks. Those freshmen have continued to get better on defense.”

Jones allowed only five first downs, 86 yards of total offense and forced seven turnovers in last week’s 25-14 victory over Mississippi Delta.

The Bobcats have been improving each week defensively, especially in their defensive line. Buford, Ga., freshman defensive end Ryan Robinson (6-4, 240) has recorded 10 sacks through eight games, which is tied for the lead in the state. Collins’ freshman defensive tackle Mario Owens (6-0, 280) had an interception and a fumble recovery in last week’s win over the Trojans.

New Iberia, La., sophomore defensive end Tyrunn Walker (6-4, 270) has been solid all season, while Ruston, La., freshman tackle Jo’nal White (6-0, 280) and Laurel sophomore tackle Robbie Mayers (6-3, 290) have been steady. Pierce notes Northeast Jones freshman defensive end Darius Jordan (6-1, 230) has also made big plays.

“Mario has really stepped up and is playing real well right now,” said Pierce. “Jo’nal is getting better. D.J. Jordan from Northeast has played quite a bit in the last two or three games and has done a good job. Tyrunn and Ryan have played pretty well all year for us.”

While Gulf Coast leads the state in scoring offense at 41.3 points per game, they will be going against the state’s top scoring defense. JCJC is allowing just 16 points per game.

Pierce knows the JCJC offense will also have to have another solid game if the Bobcats are to have a chance.

“I think our offense has to get out there and take control of the game,” he said. “We need to keep their offense on the bench. “But we are going to get ready to play this week and we are going to have a good week of practice.”

The Bobcats have won six straight games since Brian Robinson took over as the starting quarterback. Robinson (5-10, 175) had his best passing game of the season last week vs. Mississippi Delta when he completed 15 of 30 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns.

“Brian is a fierce competitor and wants to do well,” said Pierce. “We kind of feed off of that competitive nature he has.”

Anthony Jackson (6-5, 205), a second-team NJCAA Preseason All-American wide receiver from Laurel, had his best game of the season with seven receptions for 160 yards, including a splendid 49-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.

“Anthony has been playing well since the Pearl River game (a 27-10 JCJC victory) where he had a big (touchdown) catch,” said Pierce. “He also had a couple of big catches at Southwest a couple of weeks ago.”

The Bobcats also played last week’s game without the services of standout freshman running back Bubba Brown (5-10, 195). Brown, who leads the team in rushing with 92 yards per game and in scoring with 10 touchdowns, received an ankle injury on Oct. 10 at Southwest and sat out last week’s game. But he is expected to return to action this week.

The showdown with Gulf Coast has been on just about everyone’s mind on campus in recent weeks. But the Bobcats had to focus on beating Southwest and Mississippi Delta before they could turn their attention to the Bulldogs.

In last week’s win over the Trojans, JCJC got off to a quick, 9-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Trojans bounced back in the third quarter to take a 14-9 lead. But the Bobcats were able to respond and score the game’s final 16 points to pull out the win.

“I am not sure I did a real good job of getting our kids really focused in on that game,” Pierce said of the MDCC contest. “We kept telling them all week, ‘Great teams get ready to play, regardless of who you are playing.’”

“I caught myself looking ahead a little bit last week and I am sure that ran over into our team, too.”

The MACJC playoffs begin on Saturday, Oct. 31. The winner of the Jones/Gulf Coast game will host the No. 2 team from the North Division, which could be Coahoma, Northwest, Northeast or Mississippi Delta.

The loser of the JCJC/Gulf Coast game will travel to East Mississippi to begin the playoffs.

The state championship game is scheduled for Nov. 7.

Saturday’s game will begin at 2 p.m. at Bobcat Stadium/Sim Cooley Field. The game will be televised on www.jcjc.tv with Lance Pittman calling the play-by-play and Mark Easley providing commentary. The game will also air on WGDQ-FM, 93.1.

The pregame show begins at 1:30 p.m.

MACJC STANDINGS
South Division
Division Overall
W L W L
*Jones 5 0 6 2
*Gulf Coast 5 0 7 1
Copiah-Lincoln 3 2 5 3
Pearl River 2 3 5 3
Southwest 2 3 3 4
Hinds 1 4 3 5
East Central 0 5 2 6

North Division
Division Overall
W L W L
%East Mississippi 5 0 7 1
Coahoma 3 2 5 3
Northwest 3 2 5 3
Mississippi Delta 2 3 2 6
Northeast 2 3 2 6
Holmes 2 4 2 6
Itawamba 1 4 2 6

*-clinched playoff berth
%-clinched division title

Thursday, October 22
Pearl River at East Central, 6:30 p.m.
Holmes at Southwest, 6:30 p.m.
Itawamba at Coahoma, 7 p.m.
Miss. Delta at East Mississippi, 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 24
Gulf Coast at Jones, 2 p.m.
Co-Lin at Hinds, 2 p.m.
Northeast at Northwest, 2 p.m.

MACJC Statistics
- JCJC is fifth in scoring offense (25.4 ppg) and is first in scoring defense (16.0 ppg).
- JCJC is sixth in rushing offense (153.3 ypg) and is third in rushing defense (91.3 ypg).
- JCJC is 12th in passing offense (133.0 ypg) and is eighth in passing defense (184.5 ypg).
- JCJC is 11th in total offense (286.3 ypg) and is third in total defense (275.8 ypg).
- JCJC is tied for sixth in turnover margin (+2).
- JCJC’s Bubba Brown is third in non-kicking scoring (60 points) and is fourth in rushing (92.0 ypg).
- JCJC’s Brian Robinson is 11th in passing yardage (112.9 ypg) and is 10th in passing efficiency (117.7).
- JCJC’s Jacob Chancellor is third in scoring by kickers (43 points) and is seventh in punting (35.1 ypp).
- JCJC’s Chris Lofton is fifth in punt returns (10.7 ypr).
- JCJC’s Anthony Jackson is 14th in kickoff returns (21.1 ypr).
- JCJC’s DeAntrae McInnis is tied for fifth in interceptions (3).
- JCJC’s Ryan Robinson is tied for first in sacks (10 sacks – 1.3 per game).
- JCJC’s D.A. Autry is sixth in tackles (50 solos, 27 assists) and Ramon Blakeney is 26th (38 solos, 21 assists).