Pearl River takes No. 5 Jones College to the wire
Dylan Dunaway - PRCC Sports Information Director
ELLISVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River football team gave No. 5 Jones College all it could handle Saturday evening but came up just short 16-10 at Bobcat Stadium.
“We’re proud of the fight. These guys are going to do that every week,” head coach Seth Smith. “It was a case where we are so close in these games, and we have to find a way to win. We made a couple of boneheaded mistakes that hurt us. It’s hard to score in this league, so if you put yourself in long distance situations, it’s tough.
“Our defense was lights out once again. They deserve a lot of credit.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Although Pearl River’s (3-3 overall; 1-2 MACCC South) first drive of the evening stalled out after six plays, the Wildcat defense came to play on the very next drive.
Jones College (6-0; 3-0) pushed the ball up the field and into PRCC territory before Michael Montgomery (Port Gibson; Vicksburg) and Bryan Whitehead II (Bartlett, Tenn.) beat their defenders and sacked the Bobcat quarterback. The Bobcats tried to make up for the loss on the next play lofting a pass down the right side of the field, but Kam Norwood (Hattiesburg) jumped and came down with the pass for an interception.
On Jones College’s second drive, Norwood came up big again. The Bobcat quarterback dropped back to pass and saw an open receiver across the middle of the field. As he let go of his pass, Justin Jefferson (Memphis, Tenn.; Bartlett) tipped it into the air and Norwood caught the deflection for his second interception of the game.
“Kam’s been great all year,” Smith said. “He’s a fantastic football player and does everything that you ask. We’re really glad that he’s a Wildcat.”
The Wildcat offense made Jones College pay for the turnover immediately. Christopher Holifield Jr. (Mobile, Ala.; LeFlore) took a reverse around the right side of the field and rumbled down the sideline for 42 yards. After a short Lawson Pratt (Tuscaloosa, Ala.; American Christian Academy) run and a Bobcat penalty, Nick Milsap (Raleigh; Oak Grove) turned in a hard-fought, 7-yard touchdown run to give the Wildcats the lead.
The Pearl River defense bent but didn’t break on the next JC drive, holding the Bobcats to a 29-yard field goal.
The teams exchanged punts over the rest of the first half, but the Bobcats punched the ball into the end zone near halftime to take a 10-7 lead.