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PERKINSTON, Miss. – Copiah-Lincoln Community College controlled the ballgame for nearly all 60 minutes Thursday night as the Wolves rolled past No. 14 Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College on the road, 38-13, in rainy conditions. The win moves the Wolves to 3-2 on the year, but more importantly, it elevates the Wolves to 2-0 in the MACJC South Division. Co-Lin is tied with East Central and Jones, both nationally ranked teams, for first place in the south. The loss drops Gulf Coast to 3-2 and 0-2 in division play. The Wolves have another challenging road trip next week as Co-Lin travels to Decatur to take on the Warriors of East Central at 6:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs of Gulf Coast were first on the scoreboard Thursday as they closed out a nine play, 41-yard drive with a 33-yard field goal from Mason Hunt. The score came after back-and-forth stalled drives in the opening quarter. With 7:03 left in the first Gulf Coast was up 3-0.
The Wolves responded on the following drive and got their running game dialed in. Co-Lin ran the ball seven straight plays and marched 78 yards for the first touchdown of the ballgame. Rico Owens capped off the drive with a six-yard touchdown run with 4:16 remaining. Ashton Garner hit the point after attempt and the Wolves took a 7-3 lead and never looked back.
Early in the second quarter, the Wolves strung together another long drive that ended in a touchdown, this time from Deion Dampier, from two-yards out. The drive was aided by a roughing the kicker on a potential Co-Lin punt and a pass interference call deep in Gulf Coast’s red zone. The drive was 11 plays, 10 of which were rushes. Dampier had two explosive plays on the drive including 19-yard and 29-yard runs. The score gave Co-Lin a 14-3 lead, a score that would stand until the second half.
The Wolves came out firing in the second half. After the Co-Lin defense stuffed a fourth and one on Gulf Coast’s own 48-yard line, the Wolves looked to capitalize. Co-Lin marched into the Bulldog’s red zone where Hayden Davis connected with Trent Tyre after scrambling from the pocket. Garner’s point after stretched the lead to 21-3.
Gulf Coast fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Co-Lin recovered on Gulf Coast’s 23-yard line to swing the momentum even further in the Wolves direction. Just three plays later Dampier was in the end zone for his second score of the night. The score put the Wolves up 28-3.
The Bulldog’s seemed to bounce back quickly with an eight-play drive that ended with another field goal cutting Co-Lin’s lead to 28-6, and they quickly stalled the Wolves’ ensuing drive forcing a punt. Just when things seemed to start going Gulf Coast’s way, Co-Lin’s Jakaiszer Glass made an interception and returned it 37 yards to the Bulldog’s 23-yard line.
Co-Lin could not punch it in for a score, but Garner chipped in his first field goal of the season from 20-yards out to pull the Wolves’ lead up to 31-6 with 3:20 remaining in the third. Gulf Coast’s following possession was also cut short after Jalen Holland forced a fumble that Swayze Bozeman recovered. Once again Dampier rumbled his way into the end zone, his third of the game, Co-Lin’s third of the quarter, to give the Wolves a 38-6 lead.
Gulf Coast added a touchdown in the fourth, but Co-Lin had a more conservative offense for the remainder of the contest to chew the clock and solidify the 38-13 victory.
The Wolves relied heavily on the run game, as the field conditions were wet. Co-Lin racked up 222 yards on the ground, a 200-yard improvement from a week ago. Dampier led the way for Co-Lin with 134 yards on 24 carries and three scores. Rico Owens also had a fantastic game with 87 yards on 15 touches and a score. Hayden Davis and Connor Mire split time at quarterback and both completed four passes for 26 yards each. Kundarrius Taylor led the Wolves in receiving yards with 29, while DeMartre Collins posted the most receptions with four. Tyre was Co-Lin’s only score through the air.
Defensively Jakaiszer Glass led Co-Lin with 10 tackles, one sack, one and a half tackles for loss, and an interception. Swayze Bozeman added eight tackles and a fumble recovery. RJ Jarrett and Kobe Wren also posted sacks for Co-Lin.
Terrion Avery led the Bulldog’s ground game with 124 yards on 17 touches, while Chance Lovertich and Lowell Narcisse split time at quarterback. Lovertich had 65 yards while Narcisse had 54. Nick Brown led Gulf Coast in receiving with 73 yards on four catches. Cory Proctor posted a team-high eight tackles for Gulf Coast, while Dayreke Snow added seven.
Next week’s matchup in Decatur has major MACJC South Division implications as both the Wolves and Warriors are undefeated in division play. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and fans can listen to the action live at WMJU 104.3 FM in Brookhaven or on colinathletics.com. For more information on the Wolves follow @colinathletics and @CoLinFootball on Twitter.
Article by: Lucas Calvert
