WESSON – The Co-Lin Wolfpack (4-0, 2-0) defense heard all about the explosive Hinds (2-2, 0-2) offense as they prepared to face the Eagles on Thursday night in Wesson. The No. 11 ranked Eagles were coming off of a 41-34 shootout loss to the No. 1 ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast. On Thursday night, the Wolfpack defense showed that they have some explosive playmakers of their own. Co-Lin held Hinds to 260 yards total offense and 10 points in a 19-10 victory over the Eagles. Hinds had put up 426 yards of total offense in their loss the previous week.

Co-Lin defensive coordinator Otis Yelverton was beaming with pride after witnessing his defensive unit play with wreck less abandon against their archrivals from Raymond.

“I’m just so proud of how our guys showed up and came ready to play tonight,” said Yelverton. “Our defensive coaching staff put together a game plan that we thought would work, and then guys like Jordan Harris, Kalen Jackson, and Edward Muldrow went out there and executed it perfectly.”

The Co-Lin offense was the team with the most success moving the ball as they racked up 482 yards total offense, 301 of those yards coming from of the arm of freshman quarterback Daniel Fitzwater.

Fitzwater got the Wolfpack scoring off to a good start by throwing an 18-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Koy McFarland with 11:17 left to play in the first quarter. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful and the Wolves led 6-0.

Hinds would respond with a 31-yard field goal by Joseph Houston and the first quarter ended with Co-Lin leading 6-3.

The second quarter saw Co-Lin put together a 14-play drive that covered 87 yards culminating with a 26-yard Blayne Jones field goal with 14 seconds remaining in the first half as Co-Lin pushed the lead to 9-3.

Another 26-yard field goal by Jones at the 14:55 mark of the fourth quarter, put Co-Lin up 12-3 and had the Wolfpack fans feeling like they may cruise to a victory.

It would only take 1:49 for Hinds to respond and to tighten the game and pressure on the Co-Lin offense. The Eagles got a 59-yard kickoff return by Tommy McAlpin to start their drive at the Co-Lin 32-yard line. Four plays later Hinds quarterback James Summers hit Keithon Redding with a 13-yard touchdown pass and the Co-Lin lead was cut to 12-10.

Playing with a slim lead and facing a team loaded with explosive playmakers, Co-Lin head coach Glenn Davis knew he had to be aggressive with his offensive play calling. Davis would see his team take over passion with 6:47 left in the contest as they nursed the 12-10 lead.

“Throughout the game we had penalties that kept hurting us when we had a good shot at scoring, but we felt like we had done a good job moving it and we needed to stay aggressive to go ahead and put it away with another touchdown,” said Davis.

The final Co-Lin drive was the best of the night for the Wolfpack. Fitzwater found a wide-open Germie Martin for a 43-yard gain. Three plays later, Fitwater capped off the night by connecting with wide receiver Casey Gladney for an 11-yard touchdown reception. The PAT was good by Jones and Co-Lin took a 19-10 lead with 3:24 remaining in the game.

Sophomore running back Kelton Smith was instrumental in the big offensive night for the Wolfpack. Smith rushed 26 times for 155 hard earned yards. Gladney had his best receiving night of the year with 6 catches for 82 yards and 1 touchdown. Co-Lin middle linebacker Jordan Harris was again outstanding as he charted eight solo tackles in the game.

Co-Lin was penalized 13 times for 120 yards. Summers went 13-for-27 for Hinds for 169 yards passing. Tommy McAlpin was the leading rusher for the Eagles with 54 yards on 15 carries.

Co-Lin faces another huge MACJC South Division battle when they visit the Jones County Bobcats (4-0, 2-0) on Saturday, Sept. 28. Kickoff in Ellisville is slated for 2 p.m.