Jones College holds off No. 7 Hinds 43-42 in regular-season finale
Jones College erased a 14-point deficit and held on for a 43-42 victory over No. 7 Hinds on Thursday night at Gene Murphy Field at Joe Renfroe Stadium in Raymond. The Bobcats scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter and survived a late Hinds rally in the regular-season finale.
Jones led 43-34 with 3:53 remaining after Jevarion Glover connected with Jalen Jones for a 32-yard touchdown. Hinds blocked the extra-point attempt, and Raymon McKneely returned it for a defensive two-point conversion, cutting the margin to seven.
Hinds drove 65 yards in 11 plays on its final possession. Jaylon Ruffin threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Kiandre Terry with three seconds left, but Hinds missed the extra point that would have tied the game. The attempt was pushed wide right after Terry was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct following the score.
Hinds had opened a 14-0 lead on Ruffin’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Demar Gardner and Makari Bodiford’s 13-yard run. Jones answered with Terrell Surtain Jr.’s 21-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. After CJ Martin extended Hinds’ lead to 20-7 early in the second, the Bobcats took control with three straight touchdowns: a 1-yard run by Santae McWilliams Jr., a 29-yard Glover pass to Tyree Barnett and a 9-yard Glover pass to McWilliams. Jones led 28-20 at halftime.
Wyatt Jones made field goals of 33, 35 and 22 yards as the Bobcats maintained their lead. Ruffin threw a 31-yard touchdown to Kelton Young in the third quarter, and Bodiford’s 2-yard run brought Hinds within 37-34 with 8:03 to play. Jones then answered with the scoring drive capped by Glover’s pass to Jalen Jones.
Glover completed 14 of 24 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 42 yards. He finished his Bobcat career with school records for single-season passing yards, 2,632, and career passing yards, 3,821, along with 40 combined touchdowns. Cortland Battee led all players with 11 tackles.
Jones (5-5, 3-3 Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference South) totaled 533 yards, including 319 passing and 214 rushing. Hinds (7-3, 5-1) had 435 yards, with Ruffin completing 22 of 37 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns. Gardner caught seven passes for 76 yards, and Terry had four receptions for 79 yards. The teams combined for 968 yards and 54 first downs.
The loss was Hinds’ only one in the South Division. The Eagles had already secured a spot in the MACCC championship game and were scheduled to play Northwest in Senatobia on Nov. 7.
Source: Original Article
