NATCHEZ &045; Gulf Coast Community College fended off a second-half charge from Copiah-Lincoln Community College, holding on for a 30-27 win Saturday in Wesson.

After trailing 20-6 in the third quarter, Co-Lin (1-1) clawed its way back to within 30-27 at the 2:11 mark.

With the ball on its own 16-yard line&045; and no timeouts &045; the Wolves needed one Cedric Johnson pass to get into Gulf Coast territory. The 43-yard catch and run by Rocky Coleman had the Wolfpack smelling victory, but Johnson’s next pass to Damoyn Carroll &045; a 23-yard completion &045; turned into a disaster when a defensive back knocked the ball loose.

Jwaun Ward fell on the ball to preserve the win for the Bulldogs.

&uot;They got a lot of heart, there isn’t any quit in them,&uot; Gulf South coach Steve Campbell said. &uot;It’s great to get out of here with a win.&uot;

It was all Bulldogs early.

They took the opening kickoff and marched down the field, using a diving, juggling, 38-yard catch by C.J. Hawthorne to set up first and goal at the one. Quarterback Eric Walden took it in for the score.

On their next possession, Walden found the end zone again, this time from 33 yards out. He rushed 8 times for 57 yards on the day.

Just like that, it was 14-0 halfway through the first quarter.

Three of Gulf Coast’s four touchdowns came on the ground, obscuring the success of its passing attack.

Six of Walden’s 14 completions went for over 20 yards &045; a 47-yarder was called back on a penalty. He finished with 278 yards, one TD pass and one interception.

His performance stood in stark contrast to last year’s game. His 2004 season ended with an injury against Co-Lin.

&uot;I had to get my revenge, they hurt me last year,&uot; he said. &uot;I feel way better than I did last year.&uot;

It almost didn’t work out that way.

The Co-Lin defense came to life, not allowing any more points before the half.

The Wolfpack offense took advantage, scoring on a 3-yard pass from Johnson to Donavon Dickson with 2:03 left in the second quarter to get in the game.

An aborted two-point try later, and it was 14-6 at the half.

Gulf Coast’s Hawthorne widened the lead with a 70-yard catch and run. The PAT was missed, but the lead was 20-6.

The Wolfpack tied the score at 20, thanks to a Matthew Delaughter 1-yard plunge and a 36-yard Johnson pass to Carroll with 6:18 left in the third.

The Carroll score came on fourth down, the first five such conversions for Co-Lin.

Johnson, who struggled finding open receivers throughout the game, was 4-of-4 on fourth down. He converted the other with his feet.

He finished 21-of-40 for 281 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 82 yards on 15 tries with a touchdown.

Gulf South (2-0) scored the next tem points before Co-Lin closed to within three on Johnson’s 19-yard run.

&uot;We were trying to come back and win this game. We’ve been working too hard,&uot; Johnson said.

&uot;We know we’re good, we can move the ball on any team.&uot;

Wolfpack coach Glenn Davis was happy with his team’s fight.

&uot;We’re a young football team and they kind of jumped on us,&uot; he said.

&uot;I’m so proud of them for battling back. We were right there in the end with a chance to win. It just didn’t go our way.&uot;