Wolves Edged Out by Bulldogs

Wesson- The Co-Lin Football team played host to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College on Thursday, September 30. The defensive battle was won by the Bulldogs with a final score of 14-13.

The Wolves got on the board first on their opening drive of the game as sophomore kicker Bryce Lofton (Sand Hill) booted a 25-yard field goal capping off the 13 play, 68-yard drive and giving the Wolves a 3-0 lead. The Wolves defense stalled the Bulldogs offense for the majority of the first half including allowing just 51 yards on the Bulldogs first three possessions in the half.

The Wolves increased their lead early in the second quarter as sophomore quarterback Paul Hargrave (Natchez) connected with freshman receiver Dekyren Johnson (Oxford) from 33 yards out for a touchdown pass capping off a seven play, 50-yard drive. A successful PAT by Lofton gave the Wolves a 10-0 lead with 9:29 remaining in the first half.

Once again, the Wolves defense stalled out a Bulldogs offensive possession allowing just 15 yards on the drive and giving the Wolves offense another possession in the first half. The Wolves increased their lead with a 46-yard field goal by Lofton ending a 13 play, 56-yard drive and making the score 13-0 with 26 seconds left. The Wolves took the 13-0 lead into the locker rooms at halftime after the Wolves defense allowing just 73 yards of offense to the Bulldogs in the first half.

The second half started with a touchdown drive by the Bulldogs as they scored on a 60-yard touchdown pass in their opening possession to cut the Wolves lead down to 13-7. However, the Wolves defense continued their strong effort throughout the remainder of the half including a fourth down stop on the goal line.

The final score of the game came for the Bulldogs with two seconds left on a ten-yard touchdown pass and the Bulldogs defense stopped the Wolves offense on the final play of the game to earn the 14-13 win.

Paul Hargrave completed 14 of 24 pass attempts for 173 yards with one touchdown, while sophomore running back Drexlan Allen (Hattiesburg) had 93 yards on 28 attempts. Sophomore receiver Tyquan Henderson (Canton) had three receptions for 50 yards, while Dekyren Johnson had three receptions with 47 yards with one touchdown.

Bryce Lofton went 2-for-3 on field goal attempts with a long of 46 and 1-for-1 on PAT attempts, averaged 43.2 yards across six punts with four inside the 20-yard line, and had a 62-yard average across four kickoffs with two going for a touchback.

Sophomore defensive back Abdural Lee (Starkville) had his best performance of the season with 15 total tackles including one tackle for loss. Lee has led or shared the team-lead in tackles for the Wolves defense every week of the season so far. Sophomore defensive back Malik Jones (Crystal Springs) and freshman defensive back Ques McNeal (Ackerman) had seven tackles each with Jones having one tackle for loss and McNeal having one pass breakup. Sophomore defensive back Travell Cook (Miami, Florida) had one interception and returned it 37 yards for the Wolves.

Co-Lin is now 2-3 overall and 2-1 in South Division Play and will return to action with a South Division road contest against the Eagles of Hinds Community College on Thursday, October 7. The action will kickoff at 6:30 p.m., on Gene Murphy Field at Joe Renfroe Stadium.