The Wesson Cobras hosted the Sumrall Bobcats Friday night for the first home game of the season.
The Cobras battled to the end but came up short with a final score of 41-35.

“It was a tough loss,” Cobra head coach Jeremy Loy said.  “We played hard but missed some opportunities on offense. We didn’t come up with the stops on defense that we needed in the second half. We have a lot of kids getting experience though and we are improving.”

The Cobras put the first points on the scoreboard in their first possession of the first quarter when Dale Thigpen returned a punt for a score.

The Bobcats clawed back with their passing game and were able to move the ball downfield vertically. Dannis Jackson completed a pass to the end zone and the extra point put the score at 7-6 in favor of the Bobcats.

The Cobras came back on the next possession with rushes by Jermaine James, Trey Glasper and a complete pass from Peyton Burns to Will Hulon to move the ball to the 34-yard line. James capped the drive with a score and Hulon completed a pass for the two point conversion to make it a 14-7 game.

The Bobcats responded with three first downs, and Rhett Harvey completed a pass for a score from the 5-yard line. The extra point attempt was no good,  and the first quarter ended with Wesson in the lead 14-13.

The teams battled up and down the field during the second quarter, but Sumrall ended up in the end zone after battling on the  one-yard line for three plays.  Ty’Rek Preston finally made it to the end zone for the Bobcats and their two point conversion was good, putting Sumrall in the lead 21-14.

The Cobras struck back as James returned the ball to the 21-yard line. Thigpen moved the ball eight more yards and Hulon caught a touchdown pass in the end zone. Mathew Craft kicked the extra point and the score was tied 21-21 going into halftime.

The Cobras started the third quarter receiving, but the Bobcats recovered an onside kick to regain possession. Not long after that, Sumrall quarterback Harvey ran the ball to the end zone and added six points to their score.

The Cobras struggled with their passing game the rest of the third quarter, and Sumrall scored again with Keedrick Jordan rushing for the touchdown. The Cobras came back on the next possession with Brian Thomas returning the ball to the 45-yard line.

Burns then handed off to Thigpen, who threw the ball to Hulon in the end zone for the touchdown.  Sumrall came back on the next play with Jackson completing a pass that went for a touchdown.  The third quarter ended with the Bobcats taking a 41-28 lead over the Cobras.

In the fourth quarter, Wesson scored a touchdown with 11:02 on the clock on a completed pass to Thigpen from 32 yards out.
Sumrall used their passing game to move down the field but Thigpen intercepted the ball and put Wesson on their own 20-yard line.

The Cobras controlled the ball for most of the quarter with six first downs, but were not able to make it to the end zone. Sumrall took over with 1:32 on the clock and ran the clock until the game ended with a final score of 41-35 in favor of the Bobcats.

Burns completed 11-of-32 passes for 132 yards and two scores. Thigpen had one completion for 46 yards and a score.

The Cobras’ rushing game was led by Thigpen and James. Thigpen rushed for 86 yards on five carries with a score while James added 64 yards on five carries and another touchdown.

Glasper rushed for 59 yards on nine carries for the Cobras.

Hulon had a big night receiving in the losing effort. The senior caught six passes for 109 yards and two scores. The versatile Thigpen caught four passes for 54 yards and a touchdown as well.

Defensively, Chamar Martin led the way for the Cobras with ten solo tackles. Glasper had nine tackles in the game, while Jim Guess was not far behind with eight.

Thigpen, a force all over the field, caught an interception during his time on defense
The Wesson Cobras will travel to face the Bogue Chitto Bobcats Friday.