WESSON – Stone Stadium was the site of an epic battle betweentwo tremendous football teams Friday night as the host WessonCobras bowed out of the playoffs, falling to the Lumberton Panthers36-32 in the second round of the Class 2A state playoffs.

Not until a botched onside kickoff attempt failed for the Cobraswith 27 seconds remaining in the game, did the fans know what mighthappen next as both teams marched up and down the field, trumpingeach others successes one better.

Coach Teddy Dyess’ Panthers and Coach Ronald Greer’s Cobras leftnothing to hide as both used their main weapons to maximumcapacity. The Panthers 6-foot-4, 195-pound quarterback Lamone Goinsaccounted for 254 yards and 4 touchdowns. Wesson’s electrifyingtailback, Emanuel Sinclair, compiled 247 yards and 3touchdowns.

Goins was the go-to man all evening long for the Panthers,throwing for 194 yards and three scores, including two bombs of 66and 62 yards to wideout Jeremy Holder.

Sinclair put in another outstanding performance as the main cogin the power I offense as he rushed for 215 yards on 29 carries and3 TDs.

The game was a see-saw of highs and lows with Mr. Momentum notknowing where to go. It didn’t take long in the first quarter forhim to find a home. Goins handled the opening kickoff , fumbled iton the Cobra 19 yard line and it was immediately picked up andreturned 9 yards to the Cobra 10 by cornerback Brad Brister. Threeplays later Sinclair took a sweep right to paydirt to give theCobras a 6-0 lead at the 10:42 mark of the first quarter.

Quarterback/kicker Nick Gunter’s PAT was good and Wesson led7-0.

The rest of the first was miserable for the Cobras as thePanthers unleashed a massive aerial assault on the Wessonsecondary. The first came with 7:34 left in the first as Goins hitwingback Travaress McLemore on a 17-yard strike to put the Pantherson the board. The Panthers, without a field goal unit, used Goinsas a sledgehammer to gut in the 2-point conversion and Wessontrailed 8-7.

The Cobras went deep in the playbook on the next series andattempted a fake punt/pass to try and gain a leg up on thePanthers. The wind-blown ball however sailed out of bounds and thePanthers took over and capitalized 14 seconds later.

Goins dropped back and fired a bomb to Holder who outran theCobra secondary 62 yards to score. Goins plowed ahead for the 2point conversion and Wesson trailed 16-7.

After a Cobra punt and 2 minutes later, the Panthers struckagain with the same play, this time a 66-yard Goins to Holderstrike that left the Cobras stunned 22-7 with 3:02 left in thefirst quarter. The conversion failed and the Panthers led 22-7.

The Cobras used the deficit as fuel to mount a ferociouscomeback in the second quarter. “Wesson could have laid down there,that’s a testament to the kind of football team theyhave,”explained Dyess, referring to the second quarter onslaught ofthe Cobras.

It all began at the 0:03 mark of the first as safety RyanWilliams stole a Goins pass while the Cobra line punished Goins

who came up lame. The medical staff explained it was a shoulderinjury on Goins’ throwing arm and the game changed after that.

The Cobras would down a punt at the 4 yard line to give thePanthers a long field . Lumberton tailback Terry Grant fumbled theball into defensive tackle Josh McCormick’s hands to set the Cobrasup at the 5. The Cobras took advantage quickly as they lined up inthe Power-I and gutted the defense of Lumberton on sheerdetermination to set up the second score of the evening, a 5-yardpower play to Sinclair with 10:20 left in the second to give thesome life at 22-13. Sinclair’s conversion run failed.

After six-plus minutes of fumbles and punts by both sides, theCobras decided to take advantage of a hyper Panther

secondary who had been spying the run all evening. At the 2:53mark of the second, Gunter took a quick drop and nailed

wideout Johnny Butler on a quick slant and Butler torched thePanthers 74 yards to score. Gunter’s kick put Wesson closer,

22-20.

The Cobras would get one last shot before halftime as Gunterattempted a field goal that pushed left with 0:11 seconds left inthe half.

The Cobras’ motivation from the first half carried overimmediately into the second as Wesson established a crucial driveto open the third with Sinclair busting loose for his third score,a 56-yard scamper with 10:10 left in the quarter. The conversionrun failed and the Cobras led 26-22.

The Panthers then accepted the challenge, by constructing a5-minute drive of their own, using a Goins 1-yard sneak to cap itoff and regain the lead 28-26 with 5:11 remaining in the thirdquarter. Goins would once again power in the conversion and theCobras’ trailed 30-26.

“We gave it to our leaders.” recalled Dyess, referring to histhird quarter turnaround.

That turnaround continued into the fourth as the Wesson offensewas grounded by the Panthers’ attacking defense. The Panthers wouldinch closer to the third round with 3:06 left in the fourth whenthey marched the field and Grant dove in from 1-yard to put thePanthers up 36-26.

Wesson responded. On offense the Cobras got a Sinclair to Butlerhalfback pass of 32 yards and a Gunter to Williams strike of 11yards that the Panthers never saw. Williams lined up near thesideline with no attention on himself and Gunter floated the ballinto his hands to put the Cobras closer 36-32. Gunter missed thePAT and the Cobras needed an onside kick in the worst way.

They got that opportunity with 27 seconds remaining, but theball did not travel the required 10 yards and the Cobras’ fate wassealed.

The Wesson Cobras ended their season 10-2 with a Division 6-2Achampionship in their hands and fought valiantly to stay alive.

“I thank God for the opportunity to coach at Wesson.” commentedan emotional Coach Greer, “I was blessed to have a group of seniorsthat had good leadership and set an example to follow.

“Our kids don’t quit.” explained Greer. “We talk about that inlife as well. You just don’t quit.”

Quit they didn’t as the Cobras’ gave the small town its secondyear of exciting football memories and another banner year.

Wesson was led by Sinclair’s 215 yards rushing and 3 TDs in hisfinal game as a Cobra. The Cobras offensive line harassed Lumbertonas well, aiding the Cobras in churning out 342 total yards.Williams rushed 5 times for 6 yards and caught an 11-yard TD pass.Gunter was 2-4 passing for 85 yards and two TDs, the other toButler who caught two passes for 106 yards.

Wesson’s bone-crushing defense lived up to that billing allseason long and left that on the field again as senior leadershipanchored a heroic effort by this unit. Led by hardcore linebackerRussell Robinson’s 13 tackles, the senior once again had anoutstanding night in the middle. Williams added 12 stops and aninterception. Senior DT Josh McCormick had 11 stops and a fumblerecovery. Also chipping in 11 tackles was linebacker CharlesPowell, Brister, and DT Matt Dyess. Brister also recovered afumble.

“Wesson has a great football team that executed and is wellcoached.” commented Dyess. “That’s another testament to howfortunate we are.”

Lumberton (11-1) moves on to face Gulfport St. John in thesemifinals of South State. Game time is 7:00 in Lumberton.