Eddie Pierce gave his Jones County Junior College Bobcats a passing grade for their performance in last week’s 38-7 whipping of the Itawamba Community College Indians.

“We came out and we played fast and we played hard,” Pierce said Thursday afternoon in the Bobcat Fieldhouse. “I thought we played pretty smart, too. We had some good things happen to us, but of course, we made some good things happen. I was really proud of them.”

The Bobcats picked up 11 of their 14 first downs in the first half of the game vs. ICC. On the other side of the ball, JCJC held Itawamba without a first down in the first half and limited the Indians to just 122 yards of total offense.

But, this week offers another challenge for Jones.

The Bobcats, ranked No. 7 in the NJCAA/JCfootball.com rankings, host the East Mississippi Community College Lions at 7 p.m. Saturday at Bobcat Stadium/Sim Cooley Field. The game will be aired on WGDQ-93.1 FM and on the internet at www.jcjc.edu. Air time will be at 6:30 p.m. with Lance Pittman handling the play-by-play and Mark Easley providing color commentary.

The Lions opened the season with a solid, 28-9 decision over Co-Lin Community College last week, as they outscored the Wolves 28-3 in the second half.

EMCC is under the guidance of first-year head coach Buddy Stephens, who served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Pearl River Community College, for the past seven seasons. Stephens was co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach under Tim Hatten for the past six years.

“They threw it all over the field the other night,” said Pierce of the Lions. “They only ran it three times in the first half. They are much, much improved. They’ve got some great athletes with an excellent coaching staff. We are going to really, really have to play hard.

“East Mississippi has done a great job. Coach Stephens and his staff have recruited well. We will really have to be on our game, I tell you.”

In JCJC’s victory last week, Killona, La., sophomore quarterback Early James completed 13-of-19 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown, while Mize sophomore running back Maurice Ducksworth rushed 17 times for 52 yards. Avondale, La., sophomore running back Daniel Borne scored three touchdowns, which leads the state after the first week of play. Tristan Purifoy, a freshman from Hanceville, Ala., had four catches for 28 yards and a touchdown.

The Bobcats led 35-0 at halftime and pretty much coasted in the second half.

“Early did a good job and the offensive line protected him well,” said Pierce. “I would have liked to have run the ball a little better, but we will get there. They are working hard on it this week and (offensive line) Coach (Ron) Brewer does an excellent job with them.

“When you are up 35-0, the thing you want to do is to come out and finish,” he said. “I would have liked to have scored another touchdown, but we did not. So, we just have to keep digging the best we can. But, we played hard and kept the ball.”

On defense, Bartow, Fla., linebacker Demorio Leverett recovered two fumbles, returning one of them 30 yards for a score, while Geneva, Ala., sophomore end Riley Flowers registered two quarterback sacks. Mize freshman linebacker D.A. Autry led the team with eight tackles, including seven solos.