Sr RB Jordan Pedron received the following kickoff at the 9 and returned it to the 20. The Dragon offense was unable to get anything going and found itself in a three and out situation. Brock Merryman’s punt was returned to the Collierville 44 yd line where a block in the back penalty against Cordova moved the ball back to the Cordova 29 yd line. Cordova was unable to move the ball against the Dragon D and punted the ball back to set the Dragons up on their second offensive series at the 24 yd line. Sr QB Brian Hall took the snap out of the shotgun and kept it for a ten yard scamper for first down. A completion down to Jr WR Lane Maynard put the Dragons into another first down. Two plays later the Dragons fumbled the ball away at the 36 yard line. The Cordova offense probed the Dragon pass defense and came away empty handed with strong DB coverage by Sr Brock Merryman, Jr Lane Maynard, and Jr Jason Smith. Cordova punt put the Dragons in play at their own 31 yard line.

On first down, Sr RB Jordan Pedron bounced outside for a nice gain to set up a second down and less than a yard for the first. Sr FB Cody McMeans hit the middle of a stacked Cordova defense for a first down at the 41. Following a motion penalty against the Dragons, Hall rolled left and hit Pedron in the flat for a catch and run to the 49 yd line. Brian Hall carried out of the shotgun down to the Cordova 43 and on next down was called for a questionable grounding penalty that moved the ball back to Collierville 36 with a loss of down. The series bogged down and the quarter ended with the Dragon punting team lining up to punt from the 37.

Cordova running attack tore off 22 yards on first down and scored on a 46 yard scamper to the endzone on the second play of the series. With 11:06 left in the second quarter, the Wolves jumped out to a 14 – 0 lead.

In a game that showcased two talented placekickers, Cordova’s kickoff sailed 6 yds deep in the endzone to give the Dragons first and 10 at their own 20. The Dragon offense could not make any sizeable gains and punted after three tries. The Wolves were shut down and had to settle for a 45 yd goal attempt that could have easily been a 50 yarder. With 5:57 left in the first half, the Wolves were up 17 – 0.

At this point, a wisp of smoke began to rise out of the Dragons’ nostrils…..Jordan Pedron returned the kickoff 30 yards down to the 34 yd line. After two incomplete passes, Hall was picked off by a Cordova defender but Sr WR Jonathan Abel quickly turned defender and in a focused attack ripped the ball from defensive back and gave the ball back to the Dragon offense on the Cordova 43. With time running out, QB Brian Hall hit Jr TE Neil Hillis over the middle for a gain to the 14. The drive stalled at the 7 yd line and Sr K Brett Caldwell was called on to put the Dragons on the board. With 58 tics remaining in the first half, Cordova 17 Collierville 3.

The Dragon was slowly coming to life. The McMillon brothers, Sr Tyler and Jr Josh, continued their outstanding special teams play by busting up the Cordova blocking wedge. With the wedge busted, Sr WR Vincent Pirani and Soph RB Eric Burrus dropped the Wolf kick returner at his own 20. After a couple of scary runs, the Wolves finally took a knee and carried a shocking 17-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.

But the Dragon was slowly stirring ….

Having deferred the first half kickoff, the Dragons took over on their 20 to begin the final half of the game. Out of the shotgun, QB Brian Hall took the second snap of the half and on a QB draw right, was tackled by his facemask at the 43 yd line. Next down, Brian Hall called “same play, other side”. Behind excellent point of attack blocking by Scott Eller, Garrison Smith, Brock Merryman and downfield blocking by big Nash Jackson, Hall sprinted into the endzone for a 43 yd TD run.

Big Mo had changed sides of the field and was settling in on the Collierville bench…

Sr WR Jonathon Abel put the ball down for Brett Caldwell’s automatic PAT and the Cordova lead was cut to 7. Cordova 17 Collierville 10 with 11:35 remaining in Quarter three.

The Dragon finally emerged from its lair…

Brett Caldwell’s kick sailed 6 yds deep for a touchback. The entire Collierville defensive squad took over. After a couple of short yardage stops, Sr DT Garrison Smith played “race you to the quarterback” with Sr DE Ben Huff where Smith sacked the QB for no gain. Jonathan Abel’s tight coverage on the Cordova receiver forced an incomoplete pass. On third down, Soph LB Joe White made an excellent read and dropped into coverage to tip the pass away from what might have been an interception by Sr DB Jordan Pedron who had position on the Cordova receiver. Cordova was forced to punt but the Dragon offense was unable to move the ball and was forced to give it back.

The Defense came out and again turned in a focused series. The Dragons shut down the Cordova offense with run support by Jr DB Jason Smith, So LB Joe White and with tight pass coverage by Sr Tyler McMillon, Sr Jordan Pedron, and Jr Lane Maynard. Cordova was forced to punt. Two plays later, QB Brian Hall followed Sr G Andrew White and Sr T Nash Jackson over the right side for a 61 yd sprint to the endzone. The score was bittersweet as QB Hall apparently “tweaked” his hamstring as he crossed the goal line. Caldwell’s auto PAT was good and the score was tied 17 all with 3:10 left in the 3rd Qtr. It appeared at this point that Big Mo and the Dragons would pull away from the tough Cordova squad as they had done last year.

On the following kickoff, Tyler and Josh McMillon apparently had a bet and it resulted in a tie as they simultaneously hit and dropped the Cordova kick returner at the 20 yd line. On first down, an obvious hold by the Wolves was offset by a mysterious “defensive hold” call with the flag thrown on the pile after the Cordova runningback was dropped.

At this time, Big Mo was slowly getting up and stretching his legs on the Collierville bench, beginning a leisurely stroll back to the Cordova bench.