The Copiah-Lincoln Wolves (4-3) suffered their third loss of the 2024 football season and like the other two defeats, this one was close. CLCC led 10-0 early in the game but watched as Mississippi Gulf Coast made plays when needed to escape Wesson with a 27-20 win for the Bulldogs from Perkinston. 

A turnover on the opening drive of the game by Gulf Coast (6-1) set CLCC up on the Bulldog side half of Stone Stadium and the Wolves got a 29-yard field goal by Humberto Rosale to open the scoring after that fumble.

The Wolves then put together their best drive of the night later in the first quarter. A nine play possession that covered 62 yards and ended with sophomore Tray Minor scoring on an 8-yard touchdown run to put head coach Glenn Davis and his crew up 10-0.

Gulf Coast immediately responded as their quarterback Landon Varnes hit JP Coulter on a 70-yard touchdown pass that came on the first snap following Minor’s run.

Varnes, who prepped at Brandon High, is the son of Co-Lin baseball alum Boycee Varnes.

The Bulldogs, coming off the first loss of their season two weeks ago, a shocker to previously winless Hinds, then went up 14-10 when Varnes hit Mason Beverly for a 10-yard touchdown pass. That drive went for 79 yards in 12 plays and took five minutes of clock time.

CLCC had a promising drive before halftime to stall out and it felt like Gulf Coast might have won the game with the possession after that. Getting the ball back with just under two minutes left before the end of the second quarter, Varnes perfectly ran a two-minute offense that ended with him throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Coulter with 28 seconds remaining before half.

MGCCC led 20-10 at the break and Co-Lin received the second half kickoff after winning the toss and deferring to the second half. The Wolves used up 9 minutes and 22 seconds of clock to start the third quarter on a drive that ended with Rosale making a 20-yard field goal.

Gulf Coast went back up 27-13 when Varnes threw his fourth touchdown of the night, this one for 28-yards to running back Trey Hall.

Co-Lin signal caller Will Loy pulled his team to within one score with 2:16 remaining after throwing a 6-yard touchdown pass to running back Deantre Jackson Jr.

Gulf Coast was able to run out the remaining clock and preserve the win.

Loy finished 21-of-39 for 202 yards and one score. Varnes went 17-of-24 for 254 yards and four touchdowns.

Co-Lin will be on the road next week at East Central before coming back to Wesson on Halloween night to finish the 2024 season with a non-division game against the Northeast Mississippi Tigers.

In other games played around the league on Thursday, Holmes Community College stayed unbeaten with a last second field goal to defeat Itawamba 27-24, Northwest Mississippi topped Mississippi Delta 31-3, and East Mississippi dropped to 3-4 on the season with a 32-28 loss at Pearl River.