The more things change, the more they seem, at times, to stay the same.

Or so it goes in the junior college football ranks in the state of Mississippi.

One week ago today, Jones Community College was sitting on top of the world in the state, unbeaten and ranked fourth in the nation with visiting Pearl River Community College coming to town.

A late rally by the Wildcats Saturday gave PRCC a thrilling 28-24 come from behind win, and then Jones went on the road Thursday night to Perkinston and suffered a 24-3 loss to homestanding Gulf Coast leaving the South Division race muddled as PRCC readies for Homecoming.

Three-time defending MACJC football champion Pearl River will celebrate its 2006 Homecoming Saturday with a South Division battle against Southwest Mississippi for the second straight year.

Thursday’s loss to Gulf Coast drops Jones to 3-2 in the league and 6-2 overall, with only a Thursday night game against division leading Co-Lin left in the regular season.

Thursday’s win by the Bulldogs leaves Gulf Coast at 4-1 in the South, while PRCC is 3-1 entering Saturday’s league game. The Wildcats, however, handed the Bulldogs their only loss of the season earlier this year.

Gulf Coast travels to Southwest Thursday for it regular season finale, while PRCC is on the road against Hinds on the same night to finish the regular season as well.

The win by Gulf Coast over Jones Thursday still leaves the division in a muddled mess, as only the top two teams will qualify for the postseason.

“A lot can change over the next two games,” Fifth year PRCC head coach Tim Hatten explained. “Nothing is etched in stone as far as who will represent the South Division in the playoffs. Southwest is a talented bunch that’s capable of beating anybody.”

Hatten says Southwest is a very formidable foe.

“They’re a real athletic team that’s still in the running for a playoff spot,” he said. “They’re capable of beating anybody in our league. But we’ve got to take care of our own business. We can’t go out there and play like we did against Co-Lin (a 31-21 loss in Wesson on Sept. 21).”

Quarterback Carlton Hill, a sophomore transfer from the University of South Florida, paced PRCC’s comeback win over Jones.

Kickoff is set for 2 p.m., Saturday at Dobie Holden Stadium.