Wolves Blank Tigers in Season Opening Win

CLARKSDALE – The Co-Lin Football team took to the road for their season opener against Coahoma on Thursday, August 29. The No. 12 Wolves started the 2024 regular season the same way they ended the 2023 regular season with a road shutout victory, beating the Tigers 47-0.

The Wolves looked to seize momentum from the opening kick as Zyrian Jackson (Hazlehurst) returned the ball 65 yards to the Coahoma 15-yard line. The Wolves offense then looked to put points on the board on the opening drive; however, the drive stalled out and ended in a missed field goal by Humberto Rosales (McCalla, AL). The Wolves defense then stepped up and held the Tigers to no yards gained on their opening drive and forced a punt.

The Wolves offense then marched the ball down the field on a five play, 55-yard scoring drive as Will Loy (Wesson) hit Jabraxton Boone (Forest) on a 14-yard catch and run for the first touchdown of the season. The ensuing PAT by Rosales was good giving the Wolves a 7-0 lead with 9:20 remaining in the first quarter.

The game then entered a near two-hour weather delay, but the Wolves came back out and picked up where they left off with the defense making an impact play. Linebacker Lakendrick James (Shelby) burst through the Tigers offensive line and forced a fumble on their ensuing possession that was recovered by Brent Barnes (Birmingham, AL) to give the Wolves the ball on the Tigers 18-yard line. The Wolves offense needed five plays to add their second score of the game as Que Tillman (West Point) powered the ball in from four yards out to cap the drive. However, the PAT was missed giving the Wolves a 13-0 lead with 7:20 left.

The Wolves special teams unit then got in on the scoring as the defense once again forced a punt, but a bad snap followed by a partial block resulted in the ball sticking in the hands of Brent Barnes and he finished off the play with a touchdown. The PAT by Rosales was good increasing the lead to 20-0 with 5:45 to play in the first quarter.

The Wolves defense once again made their presence felt as they held the Tigers to negative yards on their possession and forced a punt. The resulting six play, 53-yard drive for the Wolves ended with a 25-yard scoring rush by Deantre Jackson, Jr. The PAT was successful increasing the Wolves lead to 27-0 with 13:46 left in the second quarter.

The longest drive of the game for the Wolves came on their next possession as they marched the ball down the field 84 yards on 14 plays ultimately capped off on an 11-yard touchdown completion from Will Prichard (West Palm Beach, FL) to Boone for Boone's second scoring reception of the game. However, the PAT was missed bringing the Wolves lead to 33-0 with less than a minute remaining in the first half. The Wolves then carried that lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Tigers got the ball to start the second half and after earning one first down on the drive, the Wolves defense then forced a punt and started their opening drive of the second half on their own 48-yard line. The Wolves then went on a 52-yard, three play (all rushes) scoring drive as Dezmond Ray (Itta Bena) carried the ball on every play and ultimately ended the drive on a 16-yard rush. Another successful PAT by Rosales gave the Wolves a 40-0 lead with 9:17 left in the third quarter.

The final points of the game came late in the fourth quarter as Jackson, Jr., burst through the Tigers defense and ran away from everyone for an 87-yard scoring rush to end a three play, 94-yard drive where Jackson, Jr., carried the ball all three plays. The final PAT was good increasing the lead to 47-0 while the Wolves defense would force one more punt by the Tigers and the offense then ran the clock out to secure the win.

Will Loy and Will Prichard were a combined 8-for-10 through the air for 87 yards with one touchdown each. Deantre Jackson, Jr., led the running attack with 137 yards on 11 carries with two touchdowns while Tray Minor (Natchez) and Gavin Brown (Gulfport) had nine carries each with 56 and 43 yards respectively. Dezmond Ray had had five carries for 54 yards with one touchdown while Que Tillman had two carries for five yards with one touchdown. Minor led the receiving corps with 49 yards on three receptions while Jabraxton Boone had 25 yards on his two touchdown receptions and Kannon Cato (New Hebron) had 11 yards on one reception. Jamarion McCray (McComb) had four yards on two receptions.

The Wolves defense was impressive as a whole holding the Tigers to just 25 yards on 36 plays and four first downs.

Co-Lin improves to 1-0 on the season and returns to action on the road on Thursday, September 5 at Holmes. Kickoff between the Wolves and the Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m., at Ras Branch Stadium in Goodman.