WESSON — The Wesson Cobras celebrated homecoming with aconvincing 35-17 triumph over the Class 4A Florence Eagles (1-4)Friday evening in a game that saw the Cobras use big-play strikesto seal the deal on a big win.

The Cobras (5-0) raced out to a 28-10 halftime lead beforegetting bogged down in turnovers and penalties in a flag-happysecond half.

The Cobras were led by bruising fullback Jeromy Smith whorumbled and charged for 131 yards on 19 carries and 3 touchdowns.Smith was aided by his backfield partner, quarterback Matt Smith,who threw for 125 yards and a touchdown on a 3 for 3 eveningpassing.

“I thought we came out and got after it in the beginning,”stated Wesson head coach Tommy Clopton. “We got tired in the secondhalf and made some mistakes. We were not as physical in the secondhalf.”

The Cobras got on the board first with a 4-yard Jeromy Smith runwith 9:36 remaining in the first quarter. Placekicker Austin Grahamkicked his first PAT on a night that saw the sophomore a perfect5-for-5 on PAT’s to give the Cobras a 7-0 lead.

Six minutes later, lightning struck when punt returner DeonPendleton hit the corner and outraced the defenders 71 yards topaydirt on a punt return TD. The quarter ended with the Cobras up14-3 after a Florence 27-yard field goal by placekicker BradleySingleton.

Wesson would score twice in the second quarter as Jeromy Smithbanged in from 15 yards out to extend the lead to 21-0. The secondscore came in due to a brilliant pass and catch combination fromMatt Smith to Cobra wideout D.J. Coleman. Coleman caught the ball,bobbled it, then corralled it while pounding his way into the endzone on the 60-yard hookup.

“I give all the credit to Matt, my linemen and my team,”explained Coleman who finished with two catches for 103 yards.”From the school to the water boys, I give everybody credit forwhat we do.”

A 41-yard pass from Sam Vincent to Tyler Stringer put Florenceon the board before the half to pull within 28-10.

The second half saw yellow flags fly like falling leaves in amistake-filled second half by both squads. The Cobra defense wasable to bend, but not break on several occasions and get out ofStone Stadium a 35-17 winner.

Florence made it interesting with 4:07 left in the third quarterwhen Vincent hit wideout Bradley Shields on a 24-yard TDstrike.

The Cobras put it out of reach in the final period when JeromySmith bulldozed his way in from 6 yards out to end the game at35-17.

Matt Smith finished with only 19 yards rushing, thanks to 3Eagle sacks but did dot the field with 125 yards passing.Pendleton, in addition to his punt return TD, caught the otherSmith pass for 22 yards. Julian Cousin led Florence with 116 yardsrushing on 15 carries.

Defensively, the Cobras had a fumble recovery by linebacker GageWilson. Peyton Cupit and Matt Smith had 10 tackles each for theCobras. Lineman Derek Lyles pitched in 8 stops.

The Cobras hit the road to begin the 6-2A schedule by paying avisit to the Hinds AHS Bulldogs at Utica. Game time is 7:30.