Wolves Drop Contest Against Lions

WESSON – The Co-Lin Football team played host to East Mississippi in a non-South Division matchup on Thursday, October 21. The Lions beat the Wolves by a final of 31-7.

The Lions got on the board first as they took the opening possession of the game on a 13 play, 75-yard scoring drive; however, the PAT was unsuccessful giving the Lions a 6-0 lead with 9:44 left in the first quarter.

The score remained 6-0 throughout the remainder of the quarter and the Lions then increased their lead early in the second as they capped off 12 play, 95-yard drive and successfully converted a two-point attempt making the lead 14-0 with 13:57 remaining in the first half.

The Wolves offense responded with two back-to-back drives deep into Lions territory but could not put points on the board with either drive, while the Wolves defense held the Lions at bay for the remainder of the half leaving the lead at 14-0 at halftime.

The Wolves lone touchdown came in the opening possession of the second quarter as sophomore quarterback Paul Hargrave (Natchez) connected with sophomore receiver Tyquan Henderson (Canton) on a 47-yard scoring pass that completed a six play, 64-yard drive and the successful PAT by sophomore kicker Bryce Lofton (Sand Hill) cut the lead to 14-7 with 13:12 left in the third quarter.

The Lions responded with a field goal on their ensuing drive increasing their lead to 17-7 with 10:17 remaining in the third quarter. Both defenses then stepped up their efforts for their respective teams stalling out the offense for both sides on the remaining drives of the third quarter keeping the score at 17-7.

The Lions added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal the 31-7 victory.

Paul Hargrave completed 21 of 37 pass attempts for 246 yards with one touchdown and one interception while Tyquan Henderson hauled in five receptions for 95 yards with one touchdown. Sophomore receiver Erick Rodgers (Shannon) had 61 yards on six receptions with freshman receiver Dekyren Johnson (Oxford) and Dontavious Turner (Magnolia) adding 36 yards apiece on four and three receptions respectively.

Sophomore defensive back Abdural Lee (Starville) was once again the leading tackler for the Wolves defense with 11 total tackles adding in one interception and one pass breakup on the night. Sophomore linebacker Jalen Campbell (Winona) had his biggest night of the 2021 season with ten tackles including one tackle-for-loss and one pass breakup, while sophomore linebacker Jamal Pye (Byhalia) also added ten tackles on the night including one sack. Sophomore defensive lineman Joseph Barton (Walnut) had nine tackles on the night with sophomore defensive back Malik Jones (Crystal Springs) and freshman defensive back Tyrese Ducksworth (Mize) added six tackles apiece. Sophomore Dartavien Girod (Breaux Bridge, Louisiana) also had one interception for the Wolves during the game.

Bryce Lofton averaged 40.8 yards across five punts with four going inside the 20-yard line and two of those going for touchbacks while also 57 yards across two kickoffs during the game. Freshman running back Antonio Luckett (Carthage) averaged 22 yards on three kickoff returns.

The Wolves are now 3-5 overall and 3-2 in South Division play and will wrap up the 2021 season with a South Division contest against Jones College on Thursday, October 21. It is the Homecoming game for Co-Lin with a variety of activities scheduled throughout the week and the day of the game including the presentation of the Homecoming Court during halftime.