The Wesson Cobras (4-3, 1-1) used a punishing ground assault anda ton of heart to pull out an unbelievable 44-37 Region 6-2A winover the McLaurin Tigers (2-5, 1-1) in a Thursday night special athome in Stone Stadium.

The Cobras ground game was instrumental once again in assuring aCobra win as quarterback Nick Gunter, tailback Brian Channell, andfullback Ladelle Jackson each had over 100 yards rushing whileJohnny Butler and the Wesson kickoff return team pranced 92 yardsfor a score.

The Cobras faced plenty of adversity in the short week sincetheir first division loss last Friday. Three Cobra starters quitthe team midweek to leave the Cobras short handed in a big divisionballgame with playoff implications on the line. The character ofthe young Wesson football team was sure to be tested.

The Cobras began the game in horrific fashion. They could notget the offense on track and the McLaurin ground game was gashingthe Cobra defenses for big chunks of yardage. McLaurin would strikefirst with 3:51 left in the first as tailback Nathan Sandersrambled 33 yards off tackle to put the Tigers up 6-0. The Tigerswould then fake the PAT and score on the scamper by wingback KevinQuick to push the lead to 8-0.

Disaster would strike on the next play from scrimmage for theCobras as Jackson had a 75-yard run down to the Cobra 1-yard linenullified by an offside penalty on the defense. The head refereestated that the whistle should have blown and brought the ball backto the Tiger 25 yard- line and erased a golden opportunity for theCobras.

McLaurin would take advantage of the break at the 10:34 mark ofthe 2nd quarter when fullback Justin Boggs plunged in from 1 yardout to give the Tigers a 14-0 cushion. After a Cobra penalty, Quickran in the 2-point conversion to hand the Cobras a 16-0deficit.

The last three minutes of the first half was exciting football,as both teams would combine to score 21 points in 40 seconds.

Wesson would finally wake up and strike first with Gunter takingthe option keeper and shuffling 32 yards into the endzone for ascore. Jackson would be stopped on the 2-point play and the Cobrastrailed 16-6 with 2:52 left in the 2nd quarter.

McLaurin answered quickly as they reached deep into the bag oftricks to pull off highway robbery in route to their third score.Quarterback Tyler Warren took the ball from the center complainingthat it was the wrong ball and suddenly raced 71 yards to theendzone an a play that truly deserved an Oscar nomination. Thestunned Cobras could only watch as the Tigers took a 22-6 lead on acrazy play no one in the house was prepared for. Ryan Odom kickedthe PAT and with 2:32 before half McLaurin led 23-6.

The Cobras would answer back without hesitation and no tricks asChannell took the ball 60 yards to paydirt with a misdirection playand put the Cobras back in business 23-12 with 2:12 left beforehalf. Channell would then run the 2-point conversion to give theCobras a boost trailing 23-14 at the half.

The Cobras played inspired football in the second half as therain peppered the ground at Stone Stadium with Johnny Butlerstarting their engine with a monstrous 92-yard kickoff return for ascore right out of the gate to cut the Tiger lead to 23-20 with11:44 left in the 3rd quarter. Gunter kicked the PAT and the scorestood 23-21.

McLaurin would answer back quickly with a return of their own asreturner Tyra Enoch raced 90 yards to paydirt to put the Tigersback up 29-21 with 11:26 left in the third quarter. Odom’s PATextended the lead to 30-21.

The Cobras would get another score at the 7:21 mark of thethird, as Jackson would take a dive in to the endzone to cut theTiger lead once again to 30-27. Gunter’s PAT was good and theCobras trailed 30-28.

After a huge defensive stand by the Cobras, the offense struckagain with Jackson hitting for 5 yards up the middle to give theCobras a 34-30 lead, their first of the game. Gunter kept the2-point conversion and the Cobras led 36-30 with 1:38 left in thethird quarter.

Not to be outdone, head coach Ronald Greer reached into his bagof tricks and kicked a flawless onside kick executed by Gunter andrecovered by Butler. The Cobra offense refused to spoil a greatspecial teams effort by cashing in on a Gunter 19-yard optionkeeper with 11:53 left in the fourth to take a commanding 42-30lead. Channell would dive in for the 2-point conversion and theCobras led 44-30.

McLaurin would scratch for another score at the 3:34 mark of the4th, but only with controversy and luck were they able to cash itin. Warren would fire a 9-yard TD pass to tight end Shawn Brown.The controversy was the fact that Cobra cornerback Gunter hadpossession of the ball as well as they lay flat in the endzone forwhat seemed like an eternity while the referees conferenced. Theyfinally awarded McLaurin the TD much to the dismay of the Cobracoaching staff and the Tigers trailed 44-36. Odom’s PAT cut thelead to 44-37.

The Cobras killed the clock and soaked up a sweet come-from-behind 44-37 victory.

“Our kids gave great effort tonight,” commented a satisfiedGreer. “We want to give credit to the good Lord, he sees us throughthe hard times.”

Offensively the Cobras continued to pound out the rushing yards.Jackson led the Cobras with 13 carries for 145 yards and 2touchdowns. Channell carried 12 times for 131 yards and a score.Gunter captained and managed the Cobra offense the entire eveningdishing out the pitches and giving the dives while gaining 102yards on 13 carries and two rushing scores. Butler had a 92-yardreturn touchdown.

“We have struggled with playing hard,” explained Gunter. “Coach(Greer) challenged us to play with heart and we came out and didit.”

McLaurin was led by Summers who had 27 carries for 168 yards anda touchdown. Warren carried 4 times for 85 yards and a score.

Defensively, the Cobras were led by lineman Phillip Freeman whohad 10 tackles. Defensive end Herman Johnson added 9 stops.Linebacker Mark Lilly, linebacker Tuffy Thompson, and Channellchipped in 8 stops each.

“We have got to tackle better and play better on kickoffcoverage,” explained Greer on what the Cobras had to improve on tocontinue the winning ways. “We just need to keep on movingoffensively and continue to play better defensively everyweek.”

The Cobras are visited by Saint Andrew’s next Friday night at7:30 p.m. for a tough region 6-2A matchup.

@Bbstandings:McLaurin

8

15

7

7

—

37

Wesson

0

14

22

8

—

44

FIRST QUARTER

M – Sanders 33 run (Quick run) 3:51.

M – Boggs 1 run (Sanders run) 10:34.

SECOND QUARTER

W – Gunter 32 run (run failed) 2:52.

M – Warren 71 run (Odom kick) 2:32.

W – Channell 60 run (Channell run) 2:12.

THIRD QUARTER

W – Butler 92 KO return (Gunter kick)11:44.

M – Enoch 90 KO return (Odom kick) 11:26.

W – Jackson 6 run (Gunter kick) 7:21.

W – Jackson 5 run (Gunter run) 1:38.

FOURTH QUARTER

W – Gunter 19 run (Channell run) 11:53.

M – Brown 9 pass from Warren (Odom kick)3:34.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING:

W – Jackson 13-145, Channell 12-131, Gunter 13-102,Butler 1-7, Blake Brister 4-29; M – Boggs 3-10, Quick 7-27, Summers27-168, Warren 4-85, Green 3-24.

PASSING: W – Gunter 0-3-0; M – Warren2-9-23

RECEIVING: M – Boggs 1-14, Brown 1-9.

PUNTING:Punting:W – Gunter 1-55, M – Odom2-32.5

PENALTIES: Penalties: W – 4-17, M-11-65