LORNAGER – Coach Sam Messina knows that his club let one slip away last week against the Tara Trojans of Class 4A. The Wolves built an 18-0 lead but left the door open for the Trojans and Tara mounted a comeback and squeaked one out over the Wolves edging Loranger 21-18.

“I thought we played hard but just came up short,” said Wolves Coach Sam Messina. The Wolves had a big lead but could not hold on for the win. The Wolves are now 1-1 on the season and will hit the road next week to take on Pearl River.

The Wolves had to play the entire second half without starting quarterback Taylor Abdalla. Abdalla did help give his team an 18-0 lead but he would not be able to return in the second half of play.

“He has a bruise on his knee but he will be fine. We expect that Taylor will be ok and ready to play against a good Pearl River Team,” Coach Messina said. The Wolves Defense did everything but come away with the win as they basically shut down the Tara Trojans with the exceptions of giving up a few plays.

“We gave up three big plays in the second half and that was the difference in the game. But I thought the players gave their all and played good defense for four quarters and that’s all I can ask of my guys,” Messina said.

Nathan Robinson was responsible for the Wolves first score and then Eric Brown helped add to the lead giving Loranger a 12-0 cushion with under eight minutes left in the first half. The Wolves then added to their lead making the score 18-0 late in the half.

But Loranger’s lead began to shrink late in the first half as the Trojans cut the lead to 18-6 at halftime. Tara then got closer in the third quarter to cut the Wolves lead to 18-14 and Tara took the lead for good with a late touchdown run to go up 21-18.

Loranger put together what they had hoped would be the game winning drive but were unable to come up with a late score and the Tara Trojans held on for a 21-18 comeback win over the Wolves.

Coach Sam Messina and his players were obviously disappointed not to come away with a victory but they are excited about the next two weeks as they inch closer to the start of District 10-3A play.

“We felt like we could have won they game but the players are focused on the next game and we want to get some momentum before the start of district play.” The Wolves are at Pearl River this week and return home in two weeks to take on the STA Falcons.