Wolves Rout Rangers Earning Championship Berth

WESSON – On Saturday, November 12, the Co-Lin Football team hosted the first MACCC playoff game at Stone Stadium since 2014 welcoming Northwest Mississippi to Wesson. The No. 4 Wolves used a dominant show of force in all aspects of the game routing the No. 10 Rangers, 48-14.

The game got off to an electric start for the Wolves as Jahron Manning (New Orleans, LA) forced a fumble by the Rangers on the opening kickoff. Lakendrick James (Shelby) recovered the ball for the Wolves setting up the offense on the Rangers 16-yard line. The Wolves offense turned the possession into points as Brandon Gilliam hit a 31-yard field goal to give the Wolves a 3-0 lead with 13:47 left in the first quarter.

The Wolves defense then needed little time to make their presence known as Kaden Dukes (Petal) picked off a pass on the Rangers second drive of the game. The Wolves offense took over on the Rangers 29-yard line and scored on the drive. Johnnie Daniels (Crystal Springs) had another historic performance during the game as he scored the first of four rushing touchdowns, this one from nine yards out, to cap the four-play drive. The PAT by Gilliam increased the lead to 10-0 with 7:46 remaining in the opening quarter.

The two opposing defenses then stifled the opposing offense for the remainder of the first quarter and midway through second. After the Rangers flipped the field with a 51-yard punt that Jaylen Smith (Jacksonville, FL) returned to the Wolves 12-yard line, Johnnie Daniels set a new career-long touchdown rush as he broke through the Rangers line and then did not stop until he found the endzone 88 yards later. Another successful PAT gave the Wolves a 17-0 lead with 7:26 left in the second quarter.

The Wolves defense once again gave the Wolves offense a short field to work with as Makhi Mayweather (Jackson) forced a fumble by the Rangers while Lakendrick James got his second fumble recovery of the game once again on the Rangers 16-yard line. Four plays later, Johnnie Daniels scampered in from six yards out for his third rushing touchdown of the first half. Another successful PAT by Gilliam increased the Wolves lead to 24-0 with 4:48 left in the first half.

The Rangers scored their first touchdown of the game with 1:44 left in the second quarter, but the Wolves held a 24-7 lead as the teams entered the locker rooms at halftime.

The Rangers defense then opened the third quarter forcing a three-and-out by the Wolves offense, while the Rangers then added their second touchdown of the game on their opening drive of the second half. The successful PAT cut the Wolves lead down to 24-14 with 7:12 left in the third quarter. The Wolves responded on their ensuing possession as they drove the ball down the field 49 yards on ten plays resulting in a 33-yard field goal increasing the lead to 27-14 with 1:31 remaining in the third quarter.

The Wolves then exploded for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. After DeVon Tott (Mandeville, LA) was intercepted by the Rangers. Christopher Burnett (Yazoo City) picked off the Rangers quarterback on the next play giving the Wolves offense the ball on their own five-yard line. The Wolves once again turned the turnover into points as they went 95 yards on seven plays with the drive capped off by the fourth rushing touchdown for Johnnie Daniels, this one from 15 yards out. Another PAT by Gilliam increased the Wolves lead to 34-14 with 8:37 left in the fourth quarter.

Jahron Manning then forced his second turnover of the game as he intercepted the Rangers quarterback on the first play of their possession giving the Wolves offense the ball on the Rangers 35-yard line. Two plays later, DeVon Tott scampered in from 35 yards out for the score while another successful PAT gave the Wolves a 41-14 lead with 7:35 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Wolves defense then got involved in the scoring with their third interception of the fourth quarter in as many drives for the Rangers as Malachi Williams (Brookhaven) picked off a pass at the Rangers 49-yard line and returned it all the way for a pick six. The PAT by Gilliam gave the Wolves a 48-14 lead with 6:04 left in the game.

The Wolves defense then closed out the game allowing just 19 yards on the Rangers final two drives to secure the 48-14 victory earning the Wolves their first MACCC Championship appearance since the 2014 season.

DeVon Tott finished the game with 13 completions on 23 attempts for 153 yards with one interception along with five rushes for 48 yards with one touchdown.

Johnnie Daniels set a new career-high in rushing yards with 163 on 14 carries and tied a career-high in touchdowns with four, the second time he has hit that mark this season after doing so two weeks prior in the Wolves win over East Central. Daniels was also the leading receiver for the Wolves with five receptions for 43 yards giving him 206 all-purpose yards on the game, the first time in his career to go over 200 all-purpose yards.

Jaylen Smith had one reception for 40 yards while Carlos Martin (Laurel) had four receptions for 38 yards to lead the Wolves receiving corps 

The Wolves defense was a force all game long holding the Rangers to 240 yards of total offense while having seven tackles for loss with four sacks and forced six turnovers with two forced fumbles and four interceptions along with three pass breakups.

Jahron Manning led the defense with seven total tackles along with two turnovers including one forced fumble and one interception and had one pass breakup. Colin McGowan (Wesson) had six total tackles with one sack while Kaden Dukes had five total tackles with one interception and one pass breakup. Dedric Hicks (Laurel) and Jay Smith (Jackson) had four total tackles each. In addition to their interceptions, Malachi Williams had one tackle for loss while Christopher Burnett had one sack during the game.

Co-Lin improves to 9-1 on the season and will travel to Scooba to face off against the No. 8 Lions of East Mississippi for the MACCC Championship on Saturday, November 18. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m., at Sullivan-Windham Field.