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Wolves Win Overtime Thriller Against Warriors
DECATUR- The Co-Lin Football team continued the 2021 season with a road trip against East Central on Thursday, October 14. The combination of a gutsy defensive performance and late-game offensive heroics led the Wolves to a 20-17 victory in overtime over the Warriors.
The Warriors got on the board first as they scored on their first touch of the game when Desmond Williams returned a Wolf Pack punt 82 yards for a touchdown. A successful PAT gave the Warriors a 7-0 lead with 12:04 remaining in the first quarter.
The Wolves saw their next two drives stopped by interceptions by the Warriors; however, both ensuing drives ended in missed field goals for the Warriors keeping the Wolves deficit at 7-0 throughout the remainder of the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, the Warriors lined up for their third field goal attempt of the game, but the attempt was blocked by the Wolves and returned to the Warriors 40-yard line giving the Wolves offense their best starting field position of the game. The ensuing drive looked to get the Wolves on the board and tie the game; however, the Warriors defense held on a goal line stand keeping the Wolves from scoring with 5:44 left in the second quarter.
The final three combined possessions resulted in punts and the Warriors carried the 7-0 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.
Each team would once again be forced to end their second half opening possessions with punts and the Warriors looked to increase their lead in their second possession of the second half. However, the Wolves forced a Warriors fumble and sophomore defensive lineman Devante Stancel (Natchez) recovered the ball on the Wolves 39-yard line.
The Wolves only held the ball for two plays for the ensuing drive as the Warriors recovered a fumble by the Wolves on their own 32-yard line. The Wolves broke through on the scoreboard on the Warriors next drive as freshman defensive back Ques McNeal (Ackerman) stepped in front of a Warriors pass and returned the interception 80 yards for a touchdown. The PAT was blocked by the Warriors, cutting the lead to 7-6 with 7:35 remaining in the third quarter.
The Warriors increased their lead to 14-6 with 3:54 left in the third on a 14-yard scoring rush that was the only play of a drive setup by another Wolves fumble, their fourth turnover of the game.
The Wolves defense continued to stall out the Warriors offense and the Wolves offense look to add a score early in the fourth quarter, but another redzone stand by the Warriors defense stopped the scoring chance with 10:31 left in the game.
The back-and-forth defensive battle continued throughout the remainder of the fourth quarter as the teams combined for just eight yards of offense on the next three drives. However, the Wolves received the ball with 2:02 left in the game and marched down the field on a ten play, 80-yard scoring drive. The drive was capped off by a five-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Paul Hargrave (Natchez) to sophomore receiver Erick Rodgers (Shannon). The Wolves then successfully converted the two-point attempt as Hargrave connected with sophomore receiver Tyquan Henderson (Canton) to tie the game at 14-14 with 31 seconds left.
The Warriors kneeled the ball to run out the clock and send the game into overtime. The Warriors were on offense first in the overtime period and hit a 43-yard field goal to take 17-14 lead.
However, the Wolves took their possession and ended the game as Hargrave and Rodgers connected for their second scoring pass of the game from 12 yards out securing the Wolves 20-17 victory.
Paul Hargrave completed 18 of 32 pass attempts for 193 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, while freshman quarterback Colton Gardner completed eight of 16 pass attempts for 79 yards with one interception.
A pair of freshmen running backs led the rushing attack as Bobby Shanklin Jr., (Macon) had 79 yards on 16 carries while Antonio Luckett (Carthage) had 25 yards on seven carries. Tyquan Henderson led the receiving corps with his second consecutive 100+ yard performance hauling in six catches for 101 yards, while Erick Rodgers had five catches for 64 yards with two touchdowns, and freshman receiver Dekyren Johnson (Oxford) hauled in four catches for 42 yards.
Sophomore defensive back Adbural Lee (Starkville) and sophomore linebacker Jamal Pye (Byhalia) led the Wolves defense with 11 tackles each. Sophomore defensive linemen Joseph Barton (Walnut) and Nate White (Orlando, Florida) had eight and seven defensive tackles respectively while sophomore linebacker Jalen Campbell (Winona) and defensive lineman Devante Stancel added six tackles apiece during the game. Stancel had one fumble recovery and Ques McNeal accounted for the only interception for the Wolves, but the 80-yard scoring play was the spark for the Wolves comeback on the night
Sophomore kicker/punter Bryce Lofton (Sand Hill) averaged 61.7 yards across three kickoffs with one going for a touchback in addition to having an average of 40.7 yards across six punts with one going for a touchback and three going inside the 20-yard line.
The Wolves improve to 3-4 overall and 3-2 in South Division play and will return to action with a home contest against the #5 ranked East Mississippi Lions. The action will kickoff at 6:30 p.m., at H.L. Stone Stadium and the Wolves will honor the sophomore members of their team at the game in celebration of Sophomore Night.
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