No. 17 Co-Lin defeats Southwest in front Homecoming crowd

(We appologize for the video archive loosing audio during the second quarter.)

WESSON, Miss. – The No. 17 Copiah-Lincoln Community College Wolves had to score 14 points in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Southwest Bears to earn their sixth win of the season. The 31-17 Homecoming victory lifted the Wolves to 6-3, 5-1 on the season. Co-Lin is the No. 2 seed out of the MACJC South Division behind Jones College in the playoffs and will travel to No. 1 East Mississippi on Saturday, November 3 for the opening round. Saturday's matchup is the first meeting between Co-Lin and EMCC since the Wolves outlasted the Lions, 31-24, in an overtime victory in 2015. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

Co-Lin was the first team on the board on Saturday as Ashton Garner nailed a 40-yard field goal on the Wolves' first possession of the game. The Bears quickly responded with an eight play, 85-yard drive that was capped off by a five-yard strike from Da'Bryan Magee to Damarcus Mitchell. With just 2:23 remaining in the opening quarter Southwest led Co-Lin 7-3.

After a Co-Lin punt, Southwest took over at their 27- yard line. Magee hit Gerkithis McCray for a 65-yard gain that put the Bears deep in Co-Lin's territory. Magee plowed his way in from one-yard out to stretch Southwest's lead to 14-3.

Southwest tried to take any energy that Co-Lin thought they had with a pooch kick following the touchdown. The Bears recovered the kick at Co-Lin's 27-yard line and sucked all the air out of Stone Stadium. Co-Lin's defensive back Natrone Brooks brought the fans back into the game just two plays later, as he picked off a Southwest pass at the one-yard line. The interception sparked the Co-Lin sideline, and the Wolves marched 96 yards on 10 plays to cut into the Bears lead. The drive saw big gains from Rico Owens on the ground, and a 29-yard pass completion from Connor Mire to Deion Dampier.  Dampier finished the drive with a six-yard run. With 8:05 left in the first half Southwest led 14-10.

The Wolves got possession to start the third quarter and capitalized on the opportunity. Co-Lin went 60-yards on eight plays and Rico Owens punched in a touchdown from one-yard out to give the Wolves their first lead of the game, 17-14.

Once again, Southwest bounced back on their following possession. After a big 41-yard run from Zarious Keyes, Southwest was in the red zone. Co-Lin made a nice defensive stand and held the Bears to a field goal. The 36-yard boot from Brazos Webb tied the game at 17-17 with 4:42 remaining in the third.

Midway through the fourth, after back-and-forth punts, Co-Lin took over at the Wolves' 48-yard line. After a 12-yard run from Owens, Hayden Davis hit Kundarrius Taylor with a beautiful pass for a 40-yard touchdown. The quick two-play drive put Co-Lin on top 24-17 with 7:12 remaining.

Co-Lin forced a three-and-out on the following Southwest possession and a 21-yard punt set the Wolves up at midfield. After another big run from Owens, 16-yards this time, Davis connected to Trent Tyre for a 24-yard gain that put the Wolves on Southwest's one-yard line. Owens pushed his way through the pile to finish the five-play drive and pull the Wolves' lead to 31-17.

Co-Lin outgained the Bears 385 yards to 284 despite running 57 offensive plays to Southwest's 59. 220 of those yards came through the air while 165 were on the ground. Hayden Davis led the way in passing with 155 yards on 14 completions and one score. Connor Mire was 2-of-3 for 65 yards. Rico Owens posted 105 yards and two scores on 16 carries while Deion Dampier finished with 70 yards and a touchdown on eight touches. Kundarrius Taylor led the Co-Lin wide receiver corps with 70 yards on five catches and a touchdown. Daniel Wilson also had a strong showing with two receptions for 40 yards.

Defensively, Co-Lin had 11 tackles for loss, two sacks, and forced one turnover. Taijh Alston led the Wolves with eight tackles, half a sack, and two and a half tackles for loss. Swayze Bozeman wrapped up six tackles, while Jordan Davis, RJ Jarrett, TJ Campbell, and Kobe Wren all finished with five. Davis also posted one sack and two tackles for loss.

Ashton Garner had a strong showing in the kicking game going 1-of-2 on field goals with a 40-yarder. Garner also averaged 40.3 yards on three punts with a long punt of 49 yards.

Da'Bryan Magee led Southwest with 157 passing yards, an interception, and a touchdown. Zarious Keys had 93 yards on 18 carries, while Gerkithis McCray posted 65 receiving yards. Trey Nobles led the Bears on the defensive side with 11 tackles.

Fans can watch next week's matchup with the East Mississippi at emccathletics.com/video/youtubelive or listen live at colinathletics.com/general/live_stream or WMJU 104.3 FM in Brookhaven. For more information on the Co-Lin football program follow @colinathletics and @CoLinFootball on Twitter or visit colinathletics.com.

1Q 07:09 Co-Lin - Ashton Garner 40 yd field goal. 0 - 3

1Q 02:23 Southwest - Damarcus Mitchell 5 yd pass from Da'Bryan Magee. (Brazos Webb kick is good). 7 - 3

2Q 13:30 Southwest - Da'Bryan Magee 1 yd run. (Brazos Webb kick is good). 14 - 3

2Q 08:05 Co-Lin - Deion Dampier 6 yd run. (Ashton Garner kick is good). 14 - 10

3Q 11:24 Co-Lin - Rico Owens 1 yd run. (Ashton Garner kick is good). 14 - 17

3Q 04:42 Southwest - Brazos Webb 36 yd field goal. 17 - 17

4Q 07:12 Co-Lin - Kundarrius Taylor 40 yd pass from Hayden Davis. (Ashton Garner kick is good). 17 - 24

4Q 03:10 Co-Lin - Rico Owens 1 yd run. (Ashton Garner kick is good). 31-17