Wolves Win Top-10 Thriller Against Bulldogs

PERKINSTON – The Co-Lin Football team hit the road to face off against Gulf Coast in a South Division matchup on Thursday, October 16. The No. 10 Wolves held off a furious comeback attempt by the No. 4 Bulldogs to earn a hard fought, 27-26 win.

The scoring started early for the Wolves as they received the opening kickoff, and Kannon Cato returned the ball 74 yards to the Bulldogs 26-yard line. Four plays later, Jaylen Pettway (Jacksonville, FL) connected with Darnell O'Quinn (New Orleans, LA) on a 17-yard touchdown pass to cap off the drive. The successful PAT by Ty Jones (Summit) gave the Wolves a 7-0 lead with 12:46 left in the first quarter.

The Wolves defense then forced a turnover on downs by the Bulldogs after they failed a fourth down conversion attempt on their opening drive. However, the Wolves responded with a failed fourth down conversion attempt of their own to give the Bulldogs the ball on their 45-yard line. The Wolves defense once again stood tall as the Bulldogs drove the ball to the Co-Lin 27-yard line but came up short on a fourth down conversion attempt and turned the ball over on downs on the Wolves 23-yard line.

Martavious Boswell (Fort Worth, TX) then made his presence felt as he found a hole in the Bulldogs defensive line and ran away from everyone for a 77-yard scoring rush. Another successful PAT increased the lead to 14-0 with 4:30 remaining in the first quarter. The Wolves defense then forced a turnover on the first play of the next drive for the Bulldogs as Dayshawn Mcgee (Biloxi) picked off a pass and returned the ball to the Bulldogs 36-yard line. The Wolves offense then pulled a trick play out and caught the Bulldogs napping on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Pettway to Matt Mayfield (Sunset, LA). However, the PAT was missed making the lead 20-0 with 4:06 left to play.

The Bulldogs first score of the game came late in the second quarter as a four-yard pass capped off a 15 play, 99-yard drive; however, Rakeem Davis (Port Gibson) blocked the PAT attempt making the score, 20-6 with 2:06 left to play in the first half. That score held as the teams entered the locker rooms for halftime.

The Bulldogs received the second half opening kickoff and went on a five play, 60-yard scoring drive capped off by a 32-yard scoring pass. The successful PAT cut the Wolves lead down to 20-13 with 12:47 left in the third quarter.

After the Wolves offense stalled out on their opening possession of the second half, the Bulldogs offense marched down the field and got to the Co-Lin side, but Archie Chambers (New Orleans, LA) stepped in front of a pass at the Wolves 32-yard line and returned the ball to the Bulldogs 14-yard line. Two plays later, Boswell powered the ball in from one yard out for his second touchdown of the game while another successful PAT increased the Wolves lead to 27-13 with 9:34 remaining in the third quarter.

The Wolves looked to add to their lead with a 46-yard field goal attempt that was blocked by the Bulldogs to leave the score at 27-13. Once again, the Wolves defense forced a turnover as Lee Holmes (Tylertown) at the Bulldogs 29-yard line and returned the ball to the 11. However, the Wolves could not capitalize on the turnover as the Bulldogs forced a fumble during the drive and recovered the ball on their own 12-yard line.

The Bulldogs took that momentum and marched the ball 88 yards on 13 plays for a scoring drive that was capped by a seven-yard touchdown pass. Another PAT cut the Wolves lead down to 27-20 with 9:32 left in the fourth quarter. That score held until the Bulldogs went on a nine play, 76-yard scoring drive that was ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass to cut the Wolves lead down to 27-26. The Bulldogs then went for a two-point conversion, but the pass attempt was unsuccessful leaving the Wolves with a one-point lead with 53 seconds left in the game. The Wolves then fielded the ball successfully on an onside kick attempt by the Bulldogs and kneeled the clock out to secure the 27-26 victory.

Jaylen Pettway went 13-for-20 through the air for 144 yards with two touchdowns. Martavious Boswell led the rushing attack with 134 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns while Dezmond Ray (Itta Bena) had 24 yards on nine carries.

Matt Mayfield led the receiving corps with four receptions for 50 yards with one touchdown while Kamron Pittman (Clarksdale) had two receptions for 36 yards. Jabraxton Boone (Forest), Que Tillman (West Point), Jordan Richardson (Gainesville, FL), and Darnell O'Quinn had one reception each while Ray added three receptions to his night.

Archie Chambers led the Wolves defense with 10 total tackles and one interception with a 54-yard return while Jonathan Crain (Brandon) had nine total tackles. Doug Nelson (Hazlehurst) and Lonnie Smith (Jackson) had seven tackles each while Smith led the team in tackles for loss and sacks with 2.5 and 1.5 respectively.

Co-Lin improves to 6-1 overall, 4-1 in South Division play, and will have their South Division finale as they host East Central on Thursday, October 23 while celebrating Homecoming and Sophomore Night. The action between the Warriors and the No. 10 Wolves kicks off at 6:30 p.m., with sophomores being honored during pregame while the Homecoming court will be presented during halftime at Stone Stadium in Wesson.