Pearl River defense shines in loss to No. 7 Jones College

Dylan Dunaway - PRCC Sports Information Director

POPLARVILLE, Miss.: The Pearl River football team held No. 7 Jones College to its third-lowest yardage total of the season and got a defensive score Thursday night inside Dobie Holden Stadium but couldn't recover from an early deficit, falling 29-15.

"The kids are fighting. We're just not getting it done on offense right now," head coach Seth Smith said. "The only way we can dig out of this hole is getting better on offense. Our defense played amazing. For whatever reason, adversity has hit us, but we're not going to run from it. We're going to keep fighting."

GAME RECAP

Jones College (5-1 overall; 4-0 MACCC South) was the first to get on the board. Although the Bobcats got into Wildcat territory with a 20-yard pass, the Pearl River (0-6; 0-3) defense came to play. Using a bend-don't-break mentality, the Wildcats forced JC into a 41-yard field goal, 3-0. The Bobcats added a touchdown on their next drive. After a 79-yard rush, JC eventually cashed in with a short rushing score, 10-0.

The Wildcat defense cut the deficit to three points a few drives later. The Bobcat quarterback threw a pass into the flat for his running back and Kam Norwood (Hattiesburg) dashed in from his safety position and cracked him to force a fumble. Quandarius Keyes (Laurel) swooped in, snatched the ball off the turf and sprinted 65 yards to the endzone for the score. Corblin McGinn's (D'Iberville) point after attempt was good, 10-7. On the ensuing JC drive, the Bobcats went 75 yards in nine plays for a touchdown, 17-7.