Wolves Rout Wildcats

WESSON – The Co-Lin Football team continued South Division play by hosting Pearl River on Thursday, October 19. The Wolves had to overcome a sluggish start to the game, but ultimately came alive and beat the Wildcats, 33-9.

The first quarter belonged to the Wildcats as they scored first thanks to the Wolves sending a snap over the head of punter Brandon Gilliam (Vicksburg) that went out the back of the endzone and made the score 2-0. The Wildcats then marched down the field on the ensuing possession and scored a touchdown on the drive. A successful PAT gave the Wildcats a 9-0 lead which they held for the final 3 minutes and 43 seconds of the first quarter.

The Wolves then broke through early in the second quarter as Johnnie Daniels (Crystal Springs) rumbled into the endzone from 54 yards out capping off a four play, 82-yard drive. A successful PAT by Gilliam cut the Wildcats lead down to 9-7. However, the Wolves could not carry the momentum throughout the remainder of the first half as the Wildcats held on to that 9-7 lead as the teams entered the locker rooms at halftime.

The Wolves opened the second half with the first possession and took the lead on a four play, 65-yard drive capped off by a 32-yard touchdown pass from DeVon Tott (Mandeville, LA) to Jaylen Smith (Jacksonville, FL). Another successful PAT by Gilliam gave the Wolves a 14-10 lead with 13:10 left in the third quarter and the lead was never relinquished.

The Wolves had their lead extended with a safety by the Wildcats as they snapped the ball over their punter's head and out of the back of the endzone making the score 16-9 with 11:18 remaining in the third quarter. The Wolves then took that momentum and scored on the ensuing possession as Tray Minor (Natchez) powered the ball into the endzone from five yards out to end a five play, 45-yard drive. Another successful PAT increased the Wolves lead to 23-9 with 9:01 left.

Brandon Gilliam then added to the Wolves lead late in the third quarter with a 36-yard field goal to cap off a six play, 42-yard scoring drive making the score 26-9 with 2:27 left in the third quarter.

The final touchdown for the Wolves came in the fourth quarter as Tott hit tight end Tyler Fortenberry on a pass who then fumbled the ball, but O'Ryan James recovered the ball for the Wolves at the 22-yard line and scored on the play. The final successful PAT gave the Wolves a 33-9 lead with 7:28 remaining to play while the Wolves defense stalled out the Wildcats offense for the remainder of the game to seal the victory.

DeVon Tott finished the game with ten completions on 16 pass attempts for 142 yards with one touchdown paired with five rushes for 24 yards. Johnnie Daniels had 14 carries for 99 yards with one touchdown. Jaylen Smith led the receiving corps with two catches for 49 yards with one touchdown.

Brandon Gilliam had a superb day in the kicking game going 5-for-5 during the game with four extra points and one field goal.

Jahron Manning (New Orleans, LA) led the Wolves defense in tackles for the third straight game with nine total tackles, while Kaden Dukes (Petal) was also a huge factor throughout the game with eight total tackles including two tackles for loss and one sack. Billy Pullen (Kaufman) and Collin McGowan (Wesson) had six total tackles each with McGown adding one tackle for loss while Pullen had one sack. Elijah Short (Columbus) also had one interception for the Wolves in the endzone ending a potential scoring drive for the Wildcats at the start of the fourth quarter.

Co-Lin is now 6-1 overall, 3-1 in South Division play, and will return to action for the home regular season finale against East Central on Thursday, October 26. The Warriors and the Wolves will kickoff the action at 6:30 p.m., at H.L. Stone Stadium as the Wolves will celebrate Sophomore Day and Homecoming in Wesson.