No. 15 Co-Lin falls to No. 7 Jones College, 28-23

ELLISVILLE, Miss. – The No. 15 Copiah-Lincoln Community College Wolves dropped an MACJC South Division matchup with the No. 7 Jones College Bobcats on Saturday, 28-23. The loss moves Co-Lin to 5-3 on the year and to 4-1 in division play, which locks the Wolves into a No. 2 spot in the MACJC playoffs. With the win, Jones improves to 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the south and earning south division champions. The Wolves round out the regular season next Saturday, October 27 with a homecoming meeting between the Wolves and the Southwest Mississippi Community College Bears. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. with the homecoming court presentation and sophomore recognition taking place at 2:30 p.m. Fans can watch the action live at colinathletics.com or listen live at WMJU 104.3 FM.

With the No. 2 seed in the south, Co-Lin is set to take on the No. 1 ranked East Mississippi Community College Lions, in Scooba, for the opening round of the MACJC playoffs on Saturday, November 3. Game time is not determined at this time.

 Neither Jones nor Co-Lin could get their offense clicking in the opening quarter of play on Saturday as the teams' first seven possessions resulted in punts, a turnover, and a missed field goal.

Jones was the first on the board midway through the second quarter as the Bobcats capped off an eight play 76-yard drive with a four-yard rush from Stetson Bennett. The 7-0 lead quickly grew as Co-Lin quickly went three-and-out on the ensuing possession and had to punt out of their end zone. Jones took advantage of the short field as Kalyn Grandberry punched it in from six yards out to stretch the Bobcats' lead to 14-0 with 3:00 left in the opening half.

The Wolves went on a brief drive that saw Hayden Davis connect with Malik Heath for a 49-yard touchdown, but a downfield holding call negated the score and set Co-Lin up at the Bobcats' 23-yard line. The Wolves were unable to find the end zone, but Ashton Garner hit a career-long 41-yard field goal to get Co-Lin on the scoreboard before the half. Going into intermission Jones led 14-3.

Midway through the third Co-Lin had driven deep into the Bobcats' red zone, but an interception cut the effort short. Co-Lin's defense made a strong stand and forced Jones to punt out of their end zone. The Wolves tipped the kick resulting in a three-yard punt and Co-Lin taking over at the Bobcats' seven-yard line. Davis found Heath again, this time from five yards out, to cut into Jones' lead 14-10.

The Wolves seemed to gain the momentum and got Co-Lin's faithful fans that made the trip to Ellisville into the game, but Jones' Grandberry snatched the excitement away with a 77-yard touchdown run on just the fourth play from scrimmage on the Bobcats' next possession. The quick strike pulled Jones' lead to 21-10 going into the fourth quarter.

Co-Lin refused to give in, as a nice kickoff return set the Wolves up near midfield. Davis hit Heath for a 26-yard gain on the first play of the drive and found Antoine Robinson just two plays later for a 29-yard toss and catch. The beautifully thrown touchdown and Garner's point after put the Wolves in striking distance, 21-17.

The momentum pendulum swung even further into the Wolves' favor on the ensuing kickoff as Co-Lin stripped the ball, and Jakaiszer Glass recovered. Unfortunately, back-to-back sacks and an interception cut the would-be drive short.

Jones took advantage of the turnover and marched 58-yards on seven plays to stretch their lead. Donte Edwards plowed in from two-yards out to stretch the Bobcats' advantage to 28-17.

Co-Lin strung together a very nice 75-yard, nine play drive on the ensuing possession that saw a 16-yard completion to Robinson, a 29-yard completion to Kundarrius Taylor, and a 13-yard strike to Heath. Rico Owens capped off the offensive showcase with a one-yard halfback dive. The score left the Wolves with a five-point deficient, 28-23. Co-Lin failed to convert on a two-point conversion that would have pulled Co-Lin within a field goal with 5:04 left.

The Wolves had one more possession later in the game but failed to convert on fourth down, securing the win for Jones.

Hayden Davis finished the day 23-of-39 in passing for 256 yards, two scores, and two interceptions. Malik Heath was Co-Lin's made target with a team-high eight receptions. Heath also led the Wolves in yards with 96 and a score. Antoine Robinson followed with 72 yards and one score on four receptions.

Co-Lin's rushing attack stalled Saturday as the Wolves posted just six net rushing yards. Deion Dampier led Co-Lin in carries and in yards with 18 yards on nine touches, while Rico Owens posted the Wolves only rushing touchdown. He had 15 yards on eight carries.

Defensively, Swayze Bozeman led the way in tackles with 11. He also had a team-high 2.5 tackles for loss totaling six yards. Both Harrell Blackmon and RJ Jarrett posted seven tackles and had interceptions, while Jakaiszer Glass had six tackles and a fumble recovery. Tyrus Wheat also was a leading tackler with seven wrap ups.

Co-Lin stuffed Jones' passing game limiting the Bobcats to just 78 yards in the air. 72 of those came from Jones' quarterback Stetson Bennett who was 5-of-13 with two interceptions. Kalyn Grandberry got the bulk of the Bobcats total yards with 189 rushing yards on 20 attempts. He also had two scores. Bennett had 66 rushing yards on 13 carries and a score, while Donte Edwards had one touchdown.

The Wolves have an opportunity to secure a winning season next week with a victory over the Southwest Bears. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Stone Stadium on Co-Lin's Wesson Campus. For more information about the Co-Lin football program, follow @colinathletics and @CoLinFootball on twitter, or visit colinathletics.com.

2Q 05:57 Jones - Stetson Bennett 4 yd run. (Cristofer Thompson kick is good). 0 - 7

2Q 03:00 Jones - Kalyn Grandberry 6 yd run. (Cristofer Thompson kick is good). 0 - 14

2Q 00:29 Co-Lin - Ashton Garner 41 yd field goal. 3 - 14

3Q 02:35 Co-Lin - Malik Heath 5 yd pass from Hayden Davis. (Ashton Garner kick is good). 10 - 14

3Q 00:07 Jones - Kalyn Grandberry 77 yd run. (Cristofer Thompson kick is good). 10 - 21

4Q 13:54 Co-Lin - Antoine Robinson 29 yd pass from Hayden Davis. (Ashton Garner kick is good). 17 - 21

4Q 08:50 Jones - Donte Edwards 2 yd run. (Cristofer Thompson kick is good). 17 - 28

4Q 05:04 Co-Lin - Rico Owens 1 yd run. (2pt conversion rush by Kundarrius Taylor failed). 23 - 28