WESSON – For obvious reasons, the Co-Lin Wolfpack and HindsCommunity College Eagles would like to end their 2008 footballcampaigns on a winning note Thursday night. The South Divisionshowdown kicks off at 7 p.m. in Stone Stadium.

Co-Lin (3-5, 2-3) is riding a 2-game losing streak. Hinds (1-7,0-5) is fresh from a 47-8 thrashing at the hands of Gulf Coast. TheEagles also had to forfeit 2 South Division victories last week,due to an ineligible player.

The Eagles are under the direction of J. Mike Smith, a formerCo-Lin player and assistant coach. Smith (30-25) is in his 7thseason at the helm. He is a member of the Co-Lin Athletic Hall ofFame.

Co-Lin head coach Glenn Davis (17-28) is wrapping up his fifthyear at the helm. Like Hinds, the Wolves have been slowed byinjuries.

Davis said the Eagles are strong on defense. “Defensively theyare ranked No. 3 in the state. They are fifth in rushing andpassing defense.

“They run well to the ball and have a bunch of good skill guys,”said Davis.

Linebacker Jeremy Tolliver (6-0, 205, fr.) of Baton Rouge leadsHinds and the MACJC with 67 solo tackles and 10 assists. Fellowlinebacker Bobby McGowan (6-2, 225, fr.) of Raymond ranks 5th intackles with 55 solo stops and 10 assists.

Offensively, the Eagles go with Wesley Mounger (5-9, 155), ashifty freshman quarterback from Clinton. The Eagles have beenslowed by a number of injuries.

Mounger has passed for 1,337 yards and 9 TDs. He’s thrown 12interceptions. He has rushed for 517 yards and 4 TDs.

Vernon Wolfe (6-0, 180) is the Eagles’ top receiver. He’s asophomore from Vicksburg who has 30 receptions for 3456 yards and 2TDs.

Parker Ware (5-10, 165, soph.) is the kicker and punter forHinds. He’s from Brandon by way of Northwest Rankin.

Davis said Hinds has a stable of running backs. “They lost theirbest back (Anton Taylor to injury) the first game of the year.”

Wolves Hope To Rebound

Last week’s 35-28 overtime loss at East Central was aparticularly hard pill for the Wolves to swallow. ECC quarterbackEmmanuel Taylor scored the tying touchdown on a 5-yard run withjust 3 seconds left in regulation. Taylor also scored TDs on runsof 68 and 75 yards.

“We have to make plays offensively and not turn the ball over,”said Davis. “We must get off to a better start. That hurt us thelast two games.”

Against Pearl River 2 weeks ago, and against East Central,Co-Lin fell behind 14-0 in the first half before cranking up itsoffense.

“We must play better on defense,” Davis continued. “We can’tafford to spot anybody any touchdowns. We didn’t tackle very wellagainst East Central. We have a lot of guys banged up.”

Offensively, quarterback Micah Davis completed 23 of 36 passesfor 323 yards and 3 TDs. He threw 1 interception. His receivers hadseveral drops.

On the season, Davis has passed for 1,819 yards and 14 TDs,placing him third in the MACJC.

Freshman wide receiver Price Sessums paced the Co-Lin receivingcorps with 7 catches for 121 yards, including a 65-yard TD pass. Healso returned the game-opening kickoff for a touchdown but it wascanceled by an illegal block.

Sophomore receiver Jason Bruce caught 7 passes for 86 yards anda TD against East Central. He has 47 receptions for 659 yards and 7TDs this season.

Co-Lin’s rushing attack was led by sophomore running back RonnieMcNulty who rushed 23 times for 137 yards. He has 517 yards rushingthis year.

On defense, linebacker Andrew McGee is Co-Lin’s leader with 45solo tackles and 39 assists. Bo Harris has 45 solo stops and 36assists. Dequan Menzie has intercepted 5 passes.

Wolf Tails: Last year at Raymond, Hinds whipped the Wolfpack37-0, holding Co-Lin to just 147 yards total offense.