No. 5 Jones County turns back Wolfpack
Published 5:00 am Friday, September 12, 2008
WESSON – Turnovers became a 4-headed monster for the Co-LinCommunity College Wolfpack Thursday night. The Wolves gave up 3fumbles and an interception to No. 5-ranked Jones County JuniorCollege, allowing the Bobcats to escape Stone Stadium with an ugly21-9 win.
Jones County (3-0, 1-0), passed its first South Division test ofthe season, riding the passing arm and scrambling of quarterbackEarly James, plus the hard-running of Daniel Borne who rushed for77 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Co-Lin (0-3, 0-1) played hard on both sides of the football butthe Pack couldn’t contain James in key situations. They knocked himout of the game for 1 play in the third quarter but the durable6-foot-2, 191-pound sophomore from Kilona, La. Returned to actionand guided the Bobcats to a pair of second-half touchdowns.
“Early showed a lot of toughness,” said JCJC coach Eddie Pierce.”He was an 11-game starter for us last year,” when the Bobcatsfinished runners-up to state champion Gulf Coast.
James was intercepted 3 times and completed 11 of 24 passes for156 yards. He rushed 18 times for 30 yards.
“Offensively, we got the job done when we had to,” Piercepointed out. “Borne scored some big touchdowns for us. He has goodspeed and quick feet.”
Borne (5-11, 206), a sophomore from Avondale, La., ran 1 yardfor a third quarter touchdown, putting the Bobcats up 14-3. A36-yard pass completion from James to freshman wide receiverAnthony Jackson (6-5, 200) of Laurel gave JCJC a first-and-goal atthe Co-Lin 1-yard line, setting up the score.
Co-Lin cut the deficit to 14-9 as sophomore quarterback MicahDavis marched the Pack 46-yards to paydirt. Davis hit wide receiverQuo Vadis Lindsey with a quick look-in pass for the TD.
A pass interception by Co-Lin defensive back Lionel Stokes wasreturned 44 yards to set up the scoring drive.
The Bobcats responded with a 6-play, 61-yard scoring march asJames passed for 18 yards and scrambled for 17 more on the drive. Apass interference penalty against Co-Lin set up the 11-yard TD runaround left end by Borne.
Placekicker Jacob Chancellor kicked the extra point for a 21-9lead with 4:25 left in the game.
Co-Lin coach Glenn Davis said he was disappointed by the defeat.”We battled them tooth and nail but we still aren’t making theplays. We are still shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Co-Lin was penalized 9 times for 90 yards.
The Pack trailed 7-3 at halftime. On the last play of the firsthalf, Tyler Fitzgerald kicked a 25-yard field goal. Fitzgerald, afreshman from Florence, averaged a whopping 47.1 yards on 6punts.
Davis completed 20 of 35 passes for 194 yards and 1interception. Sophomore wide receiver Jason Bruce caught 8 passesfor 93 yards. Lindsey had 5 catches for 30 yards.
Co-Lin only managed 77 yards rushing on 26 carries. RonnieMcNulty had 14 rushed for 38 yards. He caught 2 passes for 30yards.
The Pack held a 271-269 advantage in total offense but theturnovers were decisive.
“This was our best game so far,” said Coach Davis. “We playedhard but the bottom line is that we have to score more points. Wehave to get on the plus side of turnovers.”
Charles (Bobo) Rancifer and Dequan Menzie intercepted passes forCo-Lin. Menzie’s pick was in the end zone, killing a third-quarterBobcat scoring opportunity.
Co-Lin visits archrival Southwest for a Thursday night SouthDivision showdown. Kickoff is 6:30.