JONESVILLE – Jonesville Middle School celebrated its homecoming on Thursday with a 28-6 win over Whitmire.

The Wildcats were out of sorts in the opening minutes and missed an opportunity to score from inside the Whitmire 5-yard line. The Wolverines took over on downs and controlled the ball using a slow methodical drive that began deep in their own territory. But the Jonesville defense held firm, stopping Whitmire on fourth down with 14 seconds left in the half.

The Wildcats’ attempt at a quick score failed, leading to a 0-0 score at intermission.

“We were a little off in the first half,” said Jonesville Head Coach Michael Mullinax. “We challenged the kids to block out the homecoming hoopla and focus on the game. Just like last week the kids responded.”

Jonesville received the second half kickoff and scored on its second play when Quan Smith took a Brandon Thompson pass 67 yards for a touchdown. Gerald Hughes added the 2-point conversion to give the Wildcats an 8-0 lead.

Whitmire answered with a 7-yard touchdown run and an unsuccessful PAT made it an 8-6 ball game. From there it was all Jonesville.

The Wildcats padded its lead with a 76-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Hunter Blackwell followed by a 5-yard score courtesy of Thompson and a 56-yard touchdown run from Will Horlacher.

“The boys up front — Josh Wilburn, Coby Dean, Drew Sanders, Lance Trantham, and Cameron Jones — really stepped up in the fourth quarter,” said Mullinax. “We just kept running the same two plays to eat up the clock, but ended up putting it into the end zone. The defense played well, particularly in the second half. We managed to stop their big back, forcing them to throw. As a result, we managed to pick off two of their passes. I am very proud of the fight the kids showed in the second half.”

Skylar Garner, a Wildcat football player, was named the Jonesville Middle School Homecoming Queen during the halftime festivities.