With a 13-0 victory over Hinds Community College in its season finale, the Co-Lin Wolves are number five in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) football rankings and sit poised to meet all comers in the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) football playoffs at Stone Stadium in Wesson with an 8-1 overall record and 5-1 among their South Division opponents -- besting everyone else in the conference and division.
On Saturday last week (November 4), the Wolves hosted Northwest in a MACCC semifinal game, the winner of which will play for the MACCC championship against the winner of Gulf Coast-East Mississippi -- both losers to Co-Lin in the regular season -- in another Saturday semifinal matchup. If Co-Lin won on Saturday, it hosts the championship game. Jones College, the only team to defeat Co-Lin during the regular season, will not be in this year’s playoffs with a 6-3 record.
To get to the playoffs, Northwest Mississippi (7-2) defeated Northeast Mississippi 28-27 in overtime in its final game, while Gulf Coast beat Jones 23-0. East Mississippi (7-2) closed out its season with a 52-6 victory over Mississippi Delta.
In Co-Lin’s finale against Hinds, the Wolves got 105 yards on the ground and one touchdown from sophomore running back Johnnie Daniels and a pair field goals from kicker Brandon Gilliam. Co-Lin’s season also included upset wins over East Mississippi (23-20) and Gulf Coast (28-23), an exciting overtime victory over East Central (40-34), wins over Mississippi Delta (34-7), Southwest (29-21), Coahoma (20-6) and Pearl River (33-9); and its sole loss to Jones College (42-32).
This is the first time Co-Lin has played in the postseason since 2018 and in playoffs at home since 2014 when it beat Northwest 44-30.