ELLISVILLE – It is going to be difficult to top last week’s performance by the Jones County Junior College Bobcats.

The Bobcats went into Poplarville on Oct. 1 and shocked the 10th-ranked Pearl River Community College Wildcats, 27-10. The victory was the fourth straight for JCJC and leaves the Bobcats in first place in the MACJC South Division with a 4-0 mark.

But there is still plenty of work to be done for the Bobcats to assure themselves of a playoff berth as they head into another critical South Division game on Saturday at Southwest Mississippi Community College.

“Everything is still in front of our team,” said JCJC head coach Eddie Pierce Tuesday afternoon in the Bobcat Fieldhouse. “We have talked about the opportunities we have before us.

“We just have to get ready and go play.”

JCJC leads the division with a 4-0 mark, while Mississippi Gulf Coast is 3-0. Southwest is 2-2, followed by Pearl River and Co-Lin each at 1-2.

The Bears are still alive in the playoff chase, but they know they have to beat Jones this weekend and Pearl River on Oct. 17 in Poplarville.

It will be Homecoming on Saturday afternoon at Summit and Pierce is expecting to receive Southwest’s best effort.

“Southwest will be a good, good football team,” said Pierce. “They are athletic and they will be ready to play. They are in a ‘do or die’ situation. We have got to get focused and get ready to go play again.”

The Bears, 3-3 overall, have a modest, two-game winning streak of their own.

“On offense, Southwest is mostly one-back,” said Pierce. “They are a spread team and do a little of everything with one-back, four receivers, trips and empty. They will run a little two-back. Defensively, they are very aggressive and really come after you. They are a solid, well-coached team.”

Pierce is also a bit concerned about his team’s health going into the game.

“We are battling the flu a little bit,” he said. “I’ve kind of been waiting on that to happen, too.”

With just three regular season games remaining, the Bobcats are in prime position to achieve postseason play. But they still have some unfinished business.

“This is where we wanted to be when we started,” said Pierce. “We are here and we just have to keep it going.”