MADISON — The Wesson Cobras (6-1, 3-1) used a mix of bigoffensive strikes and solid defense to turn away the St. Joe Bruins(4-3, 3-1) in a contest that went down to the wire Friday nightbefore the Cobras prevailed 15-10.

After a dismal performance in last week’s homecoming game, theCobras faced another tough test in the Bruins. They answered thebell with pass completions in critical times as quarterback JohnCraft completed 5 of 6 passes for 137 yards on the evening. TheCobras got a huge lift from tight end Jared McManus who had aspectacular evening with 3 catches for 109 yards; none bigger thanthe 80 yard haul he pulled in with less than four minutes left inthe game that set up the go-ahead touchdown.

“Jared stepped up big tonight,” commented Wesson head coachTommy Clopton. “We don’t have any superstars, but we are unique inthat we play for each other and play hard.”

The first quarter was a defensive quarter with both teamsdropping the other for big losses. The Cobras would draw firstblood after a long drive in the middle of the 2nd quarter whensenior fullback Roy Williams charged in from 9 yards out. Williamswould finish the night with 105 yards rushing and two touchdowns on17 carries. Chris Fink’s PAT put the Cobras up 7-0 with 5:54remaining in the half.

The Bruins tied the game in a hurry as wide receiver KeithBarnes would take the reverse and toss it 27 yards to a wide openMichael Vampran. Alex Diamond booted the PAT with 3:55 left in thesecond quarter.

The Cobras had a chance right before halftime but Bruincornerback Stephen Cofer intercepted the ball on the 2 yard linepreventing a touchdown. It was knotted at half 7-7.

The third quarter offered only 3 points from the both squads,with St. Joe taking the lead 10-7 on Diamond’s 28 yard field goalat the 0:43 mark of the 3rd quarter.

The Cobras would avert a fake punt disaster early in the fourthby holding the Bruins to a punt on their next possession. TheCobras would receive their 9th penalty of the game on the kick andbe faced with 96 yards of terrain to score with under 6 minutesleft in the game.

Cue McManus and Craft on their 80 yard hookup down to the Bruin4 yard line. The official would negate a Jeromy Smith touchdown runon an inadvertent whistle which sent the Cobra fans intopandemonium. The ball was then placed at the 1 yard line andWilliams slammed it home.

The PAT try took on a life of its own. Fink would fling the badsnap toward the end zone and it miraculously fell into the hands ofsenior tight end Jonathan Grace who was draped with Bruindefenders. This put the Cobras up 15-10 with 3:20 left in thegame.

The victory was not sealed until Craft picked off a MichaelBokros pass with 52 seconds remaining to stamp the victory in blueand white.

“It’s hard to describe the effort we gave tonight,” stated ajubilated Clopton. “After that loss last week, to come on the roadand beat a good football team, I couldn’t be more proud.”

Defensively, the Cobras were led by linebackerBeau Wilson who had 15 stops. Roy Williams chipped in 10 tackleswith linemen Clayton Allen and Zach Williams getting 8 stopseach.

“I want to recognize the job my coaches do each week gettingthese boys ready to play,” stated Clopton. “This is the bestcoaching job the have done since I have been here.”

The Cobra assistants are Philip Knight, Hugh Knight, RickyGunter, and Dale Holmes.

The Cobras host a Thursday night special when Hinds AHS comescalling to Stone Stadium in Wesson. The key region game begins at7:00 p.m.