Wolves Preparing for Appearance in Heart of Texas Bowl

WESSON – The Co-Lin Football team are preparing for their final game of the 2023 season. The No. 6 Wolves will face off against the No. 10 Bulldogs of Navarro College in the CHAMPS Heart of Texas Bowl.

The 2023 season saw the Wolves climb as high as number four in the nation on their way to a 9-2 overall record through regular and postseason play. This is the fourth time under head coach Glenn Davis that the Wolves have hit the nine-win mark…at stake for the Wolves is the second 10-win season in program history and the first in the 20-year tenure of Coach Davis.

The Wolves finished the 2023 season averaging 350 yards per game (166.5 rushing and 183.5 passing) while scoring 29.1 points per game. The Wolves allowed 295.8 yards per game to their opponents (126.7 rushing and 169.1 passing) and opponents scored 18.5 points per game. The Wolves posted a shutout in their regular season finale against Hinds in game that also saw the defense allow the Eagles just 125 yards of offense. The Wolves offense had over 400 yards four times this season in wins over #8 East Mississippi, Mississippi Delta, East Central, and #10 Northwest with the highest outing coming against Mississippi Delta at 473 yards.

Sophomore quarterback: DeVon Tott – 158-272 for 1768 yards with 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions along with 190 rushing yards on 67 carries with 4 touchdowns.

Sophomore running back Johnnie Daniels – 1196 yards on 168 carries with 14 touchdowns and longest rush of 88 yards paired with 205 receiving yards on 22 receptions with two touchdowns. Daniels has 1401 all-purpose yards on the season.

Sophomore wide receivers Carlos Martin and Jaylen Smith both have 37 receptions. Martin has 419 yards with one touchdown while Smith has 480 yards with 3 touchdowns.

Freshman defensive back Jahron Manning leads the defense with 68 tackles and tackles per game at 6.2. Sophomore defensive back Kaden Dukes and freshman linebacker Malachi Williams lead the defense with three interceptions. Sophomore defensive lineman Billy Pullen leads the team in sacks with 12.5 and tackles for loss with 17.

Sophomore kicker/punter Brandon Gilliam is 16-23 on field goal attempts with a long of 44 and is 34-35 on extra points for a total of 82 points. He averaged 33 yards per punt across 42 punts with a long of 60 yards had 17 punts result in fair catches and 14 went inside the 20-yard line.

At the national level, Johnnie Daniels leads the nation in touchdowns, is second in the nation in rushing yards and yards per game, and fourth in yards per carry. Billy Pullen leads the nation in forced fumbles, is second in sacks, and fifth in tackles for loss. Brandon Gilliam leads the nation in points and field goal attempts.

The Bulldogs are 6-4 overall and come into the contest earning 381.6 yards per game (161.5 rushing and 220.1 passing) while scoring 30.8 points per game. They are allowing 361.3 yards per game (142.2 rushing and 219.1 passing) while opponents have scored 27.4 points per game.

Quarterback Dane Jentsch leads the Bulldogs with 2.082 yards on 164 completions with 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Jentsch is also the leading rusher for the Bulldogs with 620 yards on 128 carries with ten touchdowns.

Wide receiver D'Tyrain McCoy has the second most rushing yards on the team with 455 yards on 74 carries with five touchdowns.

Bryan Spotwood leads the Bulldogs receiving corps with 44 receptions for 635 yards with three touchdowns while Braylon Finney has 467 yards on 36 receptions with five touchdowns.

The Bulldogs defense has 68 tackles for loss with 28 sacks while averaging 67.7 tackles per game. The Bulldogs have forced eight fumbles this season and have seven fumble recoveries along with seven interceptions and five blocks. Sophomore linebacker Jordan Smith leads the defense in tackles per game and total tackles with eight and 80 respectively, while sophomore linebacker Eddy Toussom leads the team in sacks and tackles for loss with eight and 15 respectively. Sophomore defensive back Jakelyn Morgan leads the team in interceptions with two.

The Heart of Texas Bowl is set to kickoff at Noon on Saturday, December 2, at Memorial Stadium in Commerce, Texas. For those who cannot be make it to the game there will be a stream link provided on Co-Lin Athletics social media.