Homecoming 2022 for Copiah-Lincoln Community College went down in a picture-perfect setting Thursday night.

The best crowd of the season packed Stone Stadium to see the culmination of a week full of activities — an MACCC Soth Division matchup between the Wolves and the visiting Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs.

Gulf Coast needed just 95 seconds to drive 47 yards and get the opening score of the game on its first possession.

After that, Co-Lin owned the first half.

The Wolves tied the game at 7-7 when quarterback DeVon Tott tossed a 29-yard laser that Tyquan Henderson pulled down for a score.

Tott is a native of Mandeville, La. that was part of the team at McNeese State last year and Henderson is a sophomore product of Canton High. They’re two of the reasons why the field was ringed with collegiate assistant coaches on the hunt for recruits.

CLCC head coach Glenn Davis and his staff then went into their bag of tricks on the next drive when Tott found Henderson on a shot pass in the flats.

As Henderson rolled the ball in his hands to find the laces, the Gulf Coast defense knew it had been fooled. Henderson tossed an arcing pass that fell right into the hands of a wide-open Harold Rhodes.

Rhodes — a 6-foot-5 tight end from Jefferson Davis County High — walked into the endzone for a 51-yard scoring play.

An outstanding catch by freshman receiver Jaylen Smith (Jacksonville, Fl.) further padded the lead in the second quarter.

Smith was able to dot his toe in the endzone on a 30-yard toss from Tott that helped put CLCC up 21-10 at the halftime break.

Gulf Coast had plenty of local fans on its side of the field as the Bulldogs have several strong local connections.

Starting defensive back Dramarian McNulty is the son of former Brookhaven High and CLCC running back Ronnie McNulty.

Former Brookhaven High tight end KD Wells was one of the captains for MGCCC before the game and is in his first year in Perkinston after previously playing at Alcorn State.

Another Brookhaven High alum, freshman offensive lineman Zerian Hudson, started for Gulf Coast on Thursday and Bogue Chitto product Davis Hart saw time on the field as a fullback for the Bulldogs as well.

The Bulldogs quickly scored to start the second half, but Co-Lin bounced back with a 40-yard interception return from Dedrian Alexander (Jefferson Davis County) that put CLCC back up 28-17 with just under 10 minutes left in the third quarter.

It’s hard to blame the outcome of a 60-minute game on a single play that’s full of tackles, passes and penalties — but the momentum of the game completely flipped with under a minute left in the third quarter.

Go find the most inexperienced referees from a local junior high game and they’d do a better job than the crew working the CLCC game did on this particular play.

A ball can’t be passed once it crosses the line of scrimmage. That’s one of the most basic rules of football.

Gulf Coast quarterback Pat McQuaide handed the ball off to running back who then ran three yards before having it punched out for a fumble.

The ball bounced backwards and McQuaide then threw a pass to a wide-open receiver that ran down the sideline for an 89-yard touchdown.

That didn’t put Gulf Coast ahead, but it gave them life when all looked lost.

Again, to reiterate, a ball that crossed the line of scrimmage was fumbled and then thrown for a pass.

It was like something you’d see in a 4th grade sandlot football game.

Gulf Coast went ahead early in the fourth quarter and Co-Lin had opportunities in the final 15 minutes, including a tying field goal attempt, but could never recapture the frantic momentum that put them ahead in the first half.

In other MACCC scores from around the state on Thursday, Itawamba held off Holmes 35-28, Northeast Mississippi beat East Central 34-20, Hinds topped Southwest Mississippi 30-24 in Summitt, no. 4 ranked Northwest whipped Mississippi Delta 47-7 and EMCC beat Coahoma 24-16.

Next up for Co-Lin is a trip to play at Pearl River on Thursday in Poplarville.