No. 5 Jones, No. 7 Eastern Arizona to play in Mississippi Bowl

The 11^th annual Mississippi Bowl will feature the top NJCAA postseason matchup outside the national championship game as No. 5 Jones College is set to play No. 7 Eastern Arizona College.

The teams will play Dec. 2 at historic A.L. May Memorial Stadium in Perkinston. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m., and the game will cap a weekend of activities for the Bobcats and Gila Monsters. No other NJCAA bowl game features two top-10 teams.

Tickets can be purchased through the game’s website, http://mississippibowl.com. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students. A limited number of chairback tickets in the home grandstand (Jones side) are available for $20.

Jones (9-2) narrowly lost to No. 1 East Mississippi in the MACJC championship game last weekend, falling 19-14. The Bobcats won the South Division title and rank 14^th in team defense (259.0 yards per game) and 23^rd in team offense (377.6 yards).

Eastern Arizona (9-2) won the Western States Football League title last weekend with a 24-17 win over No. 9 Snow. The Gila Monsters have the third-ranked defense in the country (268.8 yards).

It will be the first appearance in the Mississippi Bowl for both teams. Jones will be the fifth MACJC team to appear in the game, while Eastern Arizona is the second WSFL participant. Western Arizona played last year, as well as 2009.

Past Mississippi Bowl results

2008: Gulf Coast 41, Georgia Military College 7

2009: East Mississippi 27, Arizona Western 24

2010: Gulf Coast 62, Grand Rapids 53

2011: Gulf Coast 46, Blinn 17

2012: Garden City 31, Copiah-Lincoln 29

2013: East Mississippi 52, Georgia Military College 32

2014: East Mississippi 34, Iowa Western 17

2015: Northwest Mississippi 66, Rochester 13

2016: East Mississippi 27, Kilgore 17

2017: East Mississippi 31, Arizona Western 28