Co-Lin Wolves Dominate Bears for First Conference Win

SUMMIT – The Co-Lin Football team took to the road to face off against Southwest Mississippi Community College on Thursday, September 22. The Wolves scored in all three areas of the game in a dominate show of force resulting in a 44-13 win over the Bears.

The Wolves got their scoring started early as they took their opening possession of the game and drove deep into the Bears territory, but the drive stalled out and resulted in a 28-yard field goal by freshman kicker Corey Case (Brookhaven). The Wolves held a 3-0 lead with 6:48 left in the first quarter after the 11 play, 46-yard scoring drive.

The Bears looked to take the lead from the Wolves early in the second quarter as they drove the ball down to the Wolves three-yard line, but a fumble on the snap by the Bears was recovered by sophomore defensive lineman Jordan Magee (Magee) on the 15-yard line. The Wolves then responded with their first touchdown of the game on an 11 play, 85-yard drive capped off by a 17-yard scoring pass from sophomore quarterback DeVon Tott (Mandeville, LA) to freshman receiver O’Ryan James (Houma, LA). The successful PAT by Case increased the Wolves lead to 10-0 with 9:16 left in the second quarter.

The next score for the Wolves once again came off the foot of Case as he hit his then Co-Lin career long field goal of 30 yards to cap off a nine play, 51-yard scoring drive set up after the Wolves defense forced a three-and-out by the Bears. The Wolves lead increased to 13-0 with 3:35 remaining in the first half. The final score of the first half for the Wolves also came via Case as he set a new Co-Lin career long field goal, this time from 40 yards out as the horn sounded for halftime. The field goal ended a six play, 17-yard drive and gave the Wolves a 16-0 lead as the teams went into the locker rooms at halftime.

The second half saw both team’s offenses struggle with their first two possessions each, but the Wolves started their 28-point half with a touchdown on their third possession of the third quarter. Sophomore running back Antonio Luckett (Carthage) broke loose from the Bears defense and scampered in from 37 yards out for the first score of the second half for the Wolves. The successful PAT by Case capped off an eight play, 80-yard drive and increased the Wolves lead to 23-0 with 48 seconds left in the third quarter.

After the Bears broke shutout attempt by the Wolves with a two play, 80-yard scoring drive late in the quarter, the Wolves offense responded with a two play, 60-yard scoring drive of their own as Tott completed a shovel pass to sophomore running back Bobby Shanklin, Jr., (Macon) who then broke several tackles while running 60 yards for the score. Another successful PAT by Case gave the Wolves a 30-6 lead with 14:47 left in the fourth quarter.

The Wolves would need just over a minute of play to score their next touchdown as this one came from the special teams unit. After the Wolves defense forced a three-and-out by the Bears offense, freshman receiver Jaylen Smith (Jacksonville, FL) mishandled the punt from the Bears, but then picked the ball up and broke loose from the coverage team and returned the ball 62 yards for a touchdown. The successful PAT increased the Wolves to 37-6 with 13:43 left in the fourth quarter.

The Bears added their final touchdown of the game on a six play, 53-yard drive and cut the lead down to 37-13 with 7:50 remaining in the game. However, the Wolves final touchdown of the game came on the Bears next possession as freshman defensive back Elijah Short (Columbus) picked off a pass from the Bears and returned the ball 60 yards for the defensive score. The final successful PAT by Case gave the Wolves a 44-13 lead with 3:56 remaining in the game.

The Wolves defense then stalled out the final possession for the Bears while the Wolves offense ran out the final minute of the game to seal the 44-13 victory.

Sophomore quarterback DeVon Tott completed 17 of 26 pass attempts for 221 yards with two touchdowns paired with six carries for 37 yards. Sophomore running back Antonio Luckett led the ground game with 90 yards on 18 carried with one touchdown while sophomore running back Bobby Shanklin, Jr., had 14 carries on 11 yards paired with two receptions for 63 yards with one touchdown.

Sophomore receiver Tyquan Henderson (Canton) led the receiving corps with six receptions for 77 yards while sophomore running back Antonio Luckett and freshman receivers Jaylen Smith and Carlos Martin (Laurel) had multi-reception games. Sophomore tight end Harold Rhodes (Silver Creek) and freshman receiver O’Ryan James had one reception each.

Freshman kicker Corey Case had a busy night for the Wolves going 5-for-5 on PATs and went 3-for-4 on field goals with makes from 28 yards, 30 yards, and 40 yards while the one missed field goal was a 42-yard attempt that went off the left upright of the goal posts. Sophomore kicker Dylan Wasson (Germantown) also had a solid night handling the kickoffs and punts for the Wolves as he averaged 63.4 yards across eight kickoffs with one touchback and had a 32.3 average across four punts.

Sophomore linebacker Ja’Len Sime (Birmingham, AL) led the Wolves defense with nine total tackles including one tackle for loss while freshman defensive back Navarion Benson (Crystal Springs) added seven total tackles and freshman linebacker Collin McGowan (Wesson) had six tackles. Sophomore defensive lineman Nate White (Orlando, FL) had one sack and one forced fumble, while sophomore defensive lineman Jordan Magee had one fumble recovery, and freshman defensive back Elijah Short had one interception.

Co-Lin is now 2-2 overall and 1-1 in South Division play and will return to action hosting Coahoma Community College on Thursday, September 22. The action between the Tigers and the Wolves will kickoff at 6:30 pm, at Stone Stadium in Wesson.

  Football – Wolves receiver Jaylen Smith stiff arms a Bears defender on his punt return touchdown