By By Steve Swogetinsky / EMG sports writer
Sept. 8, 2002
LAUREL Sophomore running back Greg Wash took a pitchout around the left side of the line and rammed his way into the end zone to lift the Jones Junior College Bobcats over East Mississippi 17-10 Saturday in 58th annual Laurel Lions Bowl Game at R.H. Watkins Stadium.
The four-yard scoring run broke open a 10-10 tie with 4:25 left to play as the defending state champion Bobcats got their season off on the right foot.
The defenses controlled the game on both sides of the line as the final stats show. East Mississippi had 179 total yards while Jones turned in 161. The Lions rushed for 64 yards on 33 carries, and completed seven of 24 passing attempts for 115 yards, Meanwhile, the Bobcats rushed for 80 yards on 40 carries, and completed 12 of 25 passing attempts for 84 yards. Jones had a 12-11 edge in first downs. Neither quarterback was intercepted.
The Lions got on the scoreboard in the first quarter when Will Mosley boomed a 40-yard field goal with 4:40 left in the first quarter to put his team up, 3-0.
Jones answered with 20 seconds left in the first quarter. The Bobcats took the ensuing kickoff and marched it 86 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown.
Wash scored on a two-yard run around left end. Nicholas Terracion booted the extra point and Jones went up 7-3 as the first quarter ended.
The Bobcats missed a 40-yard field goal attempt late in the second quarter and the score remained the same through the intermission.
Terracion kicked a 22-yard field goal with 5:42 to put the Bobcats up 10-3. But the Lions weren't ready to throw in the towel yet.
East Mississippi put a drive that started late in the third quarter on its own 43. The Lions hit paydirt when quarterback Daniel Spinks scrambled out of the pocket and threw a bullet to Josh Carwile in the back of the endzone for the touchdown. Mosley booted the extra point and East Mississippi led with 13:30 left in the game.
Neither team was moving the ball and both were looking for a break. That break came for the Bobcats when Chris Swain returned a punt 30-plus yards to put his team on the East Mississippi 20 yard line.
Bobcat quarterback Aaron Leake connected with tailback Bobby Keyes that resulted in a 15-yard gain. Three plays later, Wash took the ball into the endzone through a determined East Mississippi defender on the play that decided the contest. Terracion kicked the extra point and Jones held on for
the victory.
There was one negative for the Bobcats. Starting safety Tywan Napper was apparently lost for the season with a leg injury.
Both teams have tough road games coming up on Thursday night. Jones visits Mississippi Delta in a rematch of last year's state championship game (which Jones won). East Mississippi travels to Gulf Coast.