WESSON – Co-Lin head coach David Poinsett is looking for someconsistency out of his Wolves. They must execute on offense anddefense Thursday night when they visit the Mississippi Gulf CoastCommunity College Bulldogs at Perkinston. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Co-Lin and Gulf Coast are both 1-1 on the season, entering thefirst of seven straight South Division games. While Co-Lin waslosing to Coahoma 13-3 in an upset last Thursday, Gulf Coast wasfalling 10-7 to East Mississippi. Both teams had won their seasonopeners, Co-Lin ambushing Delta 24-21 and Gulf Coast beatingItawamba 21-14.

Poinsett said the Wolves have put the loss to Coahoma behindthem. The Tigers had not won a game since 1999, making Co-Linoverconfident.

“A lot of our kids expected to go out there and win, with aminimum of effort,” said Poinsett. “I was embarrassed for our fans,our school and our team.”

Poinsett said the Wolves are working on the basics of blockingand tackling. “We are working on fundamentals. We are a young teamand we are making mistakes.

“We must work on the mental side of the game. Once we accomplishthat, we will be more efficient and successful. We need to go downthere ready to play. That’s the bottom line.”

Gulf Coast is under the direction of new head coach Bill Lee. Alongtime assistant at Moss Point, Lee went to Starkville last yearand directed the Yellow Jackets to the 2001 Class 5A statechampionship. Lee was hired at Gulf Coast last spring, replacingSteve Wright who resigned.

“Gulf Coast has a lot of talent,” said Poinsett. “They doeverything well and are fundamentally sound.”

As usual, the Bulldogs boast outstanding players at the skillpositions. Quarterbacks DeShun Carmichael (6-1, 251, so,) ofPascagoula and Pete Pirtle (6-2, 205, so.) of Phoenix City, Ala.take the snaps. Carmichael has completed 12 of 38 passes for 175yards and 1 touchdown.

James Nettles (6-2, 195, so.) of Moss Point is one of the topreceivers in the conference. He averages 10.5 yards perreception.

On defense, the Bulldogs are led by linebacker Robert Walker(5-11, 207, fr.) of Gulfport and defensive back Albert Dickerson(5-11, 165, fr.) of Moss Point. Dickerson has 12 solo tackles thisseason and Walker has 10.

Co-Lin claims one of the conference leaders on defense in DavidSmith, a sophomore defensive back from Utica. He has 16 solotackles and 2 assists, ranking him third.

Defensive lineman Michael Davis of Harrisville has 9 solo stopsand 4 assists for Co-Lin. Sophomore defensive back Darius Cox hasintercepted 2 passes.

Freshman Jonathan McLaurin of Harrisville leads Co-Lin and theconference in punt returns. He is averaging 16.8 yards on 8returns. McLaurin has 4 kickoff returns for a 24.0-yardaverage.

Co-Lin freshman punter Thomas Garland ranks fifth in the league,averaging 37.8 yards per punt. His longest is 57 yards.

Placekicker Jimbo Thornton ranked second in kick scoring with 9points. He is 3-for-3 on extra points and 2 of 5 on fieldgoals.

Co-Lin quarterback Bruce Petty has completed 23 of 59 passes for323 yards and 1 TD. He has been intercepted twice.

As a team, Co-Lin ranks third in total defense (193 yards pergame) and fifth in total offense (266 yards). The Wolves have lost6 fumbles and been intercepted 3 times.

Wolf Tails: Last year Co-Lin exploded for 36points in the final 25 minutes of play to wreck Gulf Coast’shomecoming celebration 36-28. Quarterback Willie Johnson passed for1 Co-Lin touchdown and ran for another. The Wolves scored twotouchdowns on defense as Antwan Marsh returned a fumble 16 yardsfor a TD and Ken Bournes ran 26 yards with an interception. Bournesmade his return with 1 minute to play and sealed the win.