Turnovers doom Indians in playoff loss to No. 4 Jones

Turnovers doom Indians in playoff loss to No. 4 Jones
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

ELLISVILLE, MS – Turnovers on four-straight possessions to start the contest helped the No. 4 Jones County Junior College Bobcats build a big lead and cruise to a 49-21 victory over Itawamba Community College in the MACJC semi-finals on Saturday.

"We started bleeding too early and couldn't stop it," said ICC head football coach Jon Williams. "I thought [Jones'] defensive staff did a great job of game planning us offensively and they didn't get [the turnovers] on accident. We didn't get the kind of start you need when you are playing a team like Jones County."

ICC (6-4, 4-2 MACJC North) promptly moved the ball into Jones (9-1, 5-1 MACJC South) territory on their first possession of the game, but Jamal Lucas turned the tables on the Indians when he stepped in front of a Griff Loftis (Mooreville) pass and returned it 87 yards for a touchdown.

Jones recovered a fumble near midfield on the Indians' next drive and quickly turned it into a 3-yard scoring run by Justin Harris to go up 14-0 before Lucas picked another pass and returned it 53-yard for his second pick-six of the quarter.

The Bobcats defense struck again when Charles Lewis returned a third interception 25 yards for a touchdown to take a 28-0 lead by the end of the quarter.

"At the end of the day they just outplayed us in the first half," commented Williams. "It's about who blocks, who tackles, and who creates more turnovers and they did all three better."

Tobias Lofton (Forest) got the Indians on the board on a 1-yard touchdown run and Jeff Johnson (Southaven) recovered a fumble in the end zone before Anfernee Brand (Houston) scored on a 29-yard run, but seven turnovers were too much for the Indians to overcome as the nationally-ranked Bobcats held on for the 49-21 victory.

"I was proud of how the guys didn't lay down," Williams said. "A lot of teams would have just tried to get the game over with, but our guys didn't do that. They played and fought hard to the very end, but it just wasn't enough."

Chase Watson (Saltillo) threw for a career-high 110 yards on 15-of-35 passing with two interceptions while Loftis went 4-of-12 for 81 yards and four interceptions. Jarvis Bentley (Columbus, GA) caught 7 passes for 88 yards.

Lofton rushed for 124 yards and one touchdown on 31 carries with Brand adding 40 yards on 5 carries to go along with his scoring run as the Indians as had 362 yards of total offense (191 passing, 171 rushing).

Ted Esom had 9 tackles (8 solo, 1 assist) with 1 tackle for a loss of 3 yards while CJ Jackson (Water Valley) had 8 solo tackles with 6 tackles for a loss of 17 yards and 2 forced fumbles. Austin Shumpert (Itawamba AHS) had 7 tackles (5 solo, 2 assists) with an interception returned for 22 yards while Darius White had 2 solo tackles and another interception. Tabarrious Coffey (Calhoun City) and Archie Dennard (Hollandale-Simmons) each had a fumble recovery.

The Indians finished the season 6-4 and 4-2 in the MACJC North and made the program's first playoff appearance since 2007.

"A lot of good things were accomplished by this group this season and I hate the way it may be overshadowed by this game, but I'm very proud of each of these guys that have been a big part of turning things around for our football program over the past two years," said Williams.

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