Wolves Drop Hard-fought Game Against Gulf Coast

WESSON – The Co-Lin Football team returned to action hosting Gulf Coast on Thursday, October 17. The No. 7 Bulldogs beat the Wolves, 27-20.

The Wolves got on the board first after the defense forced a turnover by the Bulldogs offense on their opening drive as DJ Hill-Smith (Reed, AR) ripped the ball away from a running back while Fernando Washington (Macon, GA) recovered the ball on the Bulldogs 42-yard line. The resulting drive was capped off with a 29-yard field goal by Humberto Rosales (McCalla, AL) to give the Wolves a 3-0 lead with 11:45 left in the first quarter.

After the Wolves defense forced a turnover on downs, the Wolves offense extended their lead on the ensuing possession. Tray Minor (Natchez) powered the ball in from eight yards out to cap off a nine play, 62-yard drive while a successful PAT by Rosales gave the Wolves a 10-0 lead with 2:31 remaining in the quarter. The Bulldogs then responded with a 70-yard touchdown pass to cut the Wolves lead down to 10-7 after the PAT with 2:10 left to play.

The Bulldogs then took the lead with a touchdown pass early in the second quarter as the PAT made the score, 14-10, with 10:25 left to play. The Wolves looked to cut the lead down to one-point with a 41-yard field goal attempt, but Rosales missed the kick wide right to keep the deficit at 14-10 with 1:44 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs then added a second touchdown pass in the quarter, but the PAT was missed to extend the lead to 20-10 with 28 seconds left to play. That score held as the teams entered the locker rooms at halftime.

The Wolves then got the ball for the opening possession of the second half and cut into the lead with a ten play, 59-yard scoring drive as Rosales hit a 27-yard field goal cutting the lead down to 20-13 with 5:31 left in the third quarter. The Wolves then looked to be set to tie the game as Hill-Smith intercepted a pass and returned the ball deep into the Bulldogs territory, but the Wolves were called for pass interference on the play negating the turnover as the third quarter ended.

The Bulldogs later scored on their fourth touchdown pass of the game while the PAT made the score, 27-13, with 7:47 remaining in the fourth quarter. Late in the quarter, Will Loy (Wesson) completed a six-yard touchdown pass to Deantre Jackson, Jr., to end a ten play, 68-yard scoring drive. The successful PAT cut the deficit down to 27-20 with 2:16 left in the game. The Bulldogs then recovered an onside kick attempt by the Wolves while the Wolves defense stopped the Bulldogs offense on a third down on the drive, but a facemask penalty by the Wolves gave the Bulldogs an automatic first down while two quarterback kneels ran out the clock to secure the 27-20 win.

Will Loy completed 21 of 39 pass attempts for 202 yards with one touchdown while Tray Minor led the rushing attack with 73 yards on 11 carries with one touchdown. Deantre Jackson, Jr., had eight carries for 45 yards. Jackson, Jr., was the leading receiver with four receptions for 48 yards with one touchdown while Minor had five receptions for 47 yards. Jamarion McCray (McComb), Jabraxton Boone (Forest), and Jordan Richardson (Gainesville, FL) had two receptions each.

Fernando Washington led the Wolves defense with 11 tackles while Malachi Williams (Brookhaven) and Doug Nelson (Hazlehurst) had nine tackles each.  

Co-Lin is now 4-3 overall, 3-2 in South Division play, and will wrap up division play with a road game against East Central on Thursday, October 24. The action between the Wolves and the Warriors is set to kickoff at 6:30 p.m., at Warrior Field at Bailey Stadium in Decatur.