DAILY LEADER / TRACY FISCHER / Wesson running back Kendrick Brown (20) tries to maintain his balance as West Lauderdale’s defender Colby Ethridge (45) and Cetin Ozen (5) prepare to bring him down Friday night.

COLLINSVILLE – Both the Wesson Cobras and the home-standing West Lauderdale High School Knights had to battle through frequent fumbles and penalties throughout Friday night’s game, but the Cobras managed to hold on to secure their second win of the season by defeating the Knights on their home turf 28-19.

“I am so happy and proud of our players for battling back after being down early in the game. Our kids played extremely hard,” said Ronald Greer, head coach for Wesson. “We must take better care of the football. We had eight fumbles in the game and lost five of them. We were very fortunate to win the game with that many turnovers.

“We have to work on getting better each week. Our coaches did a great job preparing our team this week.”

The first quarter of the game was marked by fumbles when Alex Smith recovered the ball from the Cobras on their own 34-yard line but turned it back over on the next play when Wesson’s Jermaine James recovered it on the 43-yard line.

Wesson fumbled and recovered the ball but lost it again to Smith on the next play. The Knights made the first touchdown when sophomore Keshun Grace ran the ball 35 yards to the end zone with 11 seconds on the clock.

The Cobras took charge at the beginning of the second quarter and moved the ball down the field when quarterback Tyler Christmas completed a pass to receiver Farrod Green to bring the Cobras into the Knights’ red zone. Kendrick Brown ran the ball into the end zone for the touchdown, and Tre’ Fleming made the extra point, bringing the score to 7-6.

The Knights scored on their next possession and went for the two-point conversion but were unsuccessful with an incomplete pass. The Cobras fumbled again on their next possession, which put the Knights on their own 45-yard line. Receiver Reed Green completed a pass and ran it into the end zone for the Knights.

Wesson battled back under quarterback Tyler Christmas as he sprinted to the 10-yard line. Christmas got hurt on the play and was replaced by quarterback Peyton Burns, who finished the second quarter, collecting his first varsity touchdown on a completed pass to Farrod Green. At halftime, West Lauderdale led Wesson 19-14.

In the second half, the Cobras continued to fight back with a vengeance as Frank Thigpen and Kendrick Brown helped Wesson score two more touchdowns. Tre’ Fleming finished the night perfect in the extra point attempts to give Wesson a 28-19 advantage.

With 2:23 left in the game, the Cobra defense was doing a great job taking care of business as they held the Knights when all of a sudden, the field went pitch black due to a power outage.

The game could not continue due to the blackout, and the Cobras got the win with a final score of 28-19.

Christmas paced the Cobras on offense with five rushes for 50 yards. Kendrick Brown contributed eight carries for 38 yards and two touchdowns.

Farrod Green led all receivers with seven catches for 112 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, Demarcus Smith was the top tackler with nine tackles. Jeremiah Stapleton had seven stops and an interception. Frank Thigpen had a 40-yard interception that was returned for a touchdown. Jermaine James had two fumble recoveries.

The Wesson Cobras’ will resume action next Friday as they prepare to travel to Seminary to play the Bulldogs. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.