Despite the score on the scoreboard, the Bears were in a positive frame of mind following last Thursday's 55-33 loss against Mississippi Gulf Coast in the home opener. With several positives to build upon, they look to pull even in MACCC South Division Play this Thursday at Co-Lin.
"We're good, we are doing good, we had a good day of practice (Monday) and we avoided the rain," Southwest head coach Cliff Collins said. "Everybody is doing well."
One big takeaway that Collins said his team needs to work on ahead of the game against the Wolves is playing hard for all 60:00 of the contest.
"Just finishing, that's it, just finishing the game," he said. "That is the biggest thing and cutting down on mistakes and continuing to make plays, continue to play hard."
The Bears (1-2, 0-1 MACCC South) will face a team in the Wolves (2-1, 0-1 MACCC South) who are also coming off of a tough loss to open conference play, falling at Jones 42-32. Despite this, Co-Lin presents a big challenge for the Bears.
"They are a good football team," Collins said. "They are going to be physical. We just have to match their physicality."
On offense, the Wolves are led by second-year quarterback DeVon Tott who has completed 55% of his passes thus far for 746 yards. The running game is powered by Johnnie Daniels who has 265 yards and two touchdowns on 46 rushes and amongst the receivers, Dakota Thomas leads the charge with 12 catches for 136 yards and three scores.
And even though the two schools are only separated by a short 35-minute drive Collins does not look at this as a "rivalry" game and more of just the next contest. The drive is also the shortest the Bears will have to make this season and for Collins, he said that it almost feels like a home game and he is asking the Bear faithful to be loud and make their presence known in Wesson.
"Our fans have been really supportive on the road," Collins said. "Players feed off of fans."
Last week, the Bears got big performances from a number of individuals. Defensively, Ethan Williams had four tackles but where he really stood out was his two interceptions in the first half, both of which not only set up the Bears with excellent field position, but also led to eventual scores. On the offensive side, Amarien Jefferson – in his first start – completed 15-of-35 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns. Another individual who shined was Lyndell Boatman who made all four of his field goal attempts and all three of his extra point attempts. He also earned MACCC Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
Collins adds that getting a win over Co-Lin would be a huge boost in momentum for his team, especially as they prepare to return home to face East Central.
"This is the next game and the most important," he said. "We have to win this one to get back in the win column. That is the purpose, to get 1-1 in the division and get rolling."
The Bears and the Wolves kick off at 6:30 p.m. at H.L. Stone Stadium.
