WESSON — Joel Davis didn’t know if he would get a chance at a lot of playing time in his freshman season at Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

But when the time came, the freshman running back and former Natchez High Bulldog was ready for it.

Davis had the two biggest games of his Co-Lin career in the Wolfpack’s last two contests, and has helped Co-Lin reach the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior College championship game Saturday.

Davis rushed for 164 yards and scored two touchdowns in the regular season finale against Northwest, and then rushed for 103 yards and scored three touchdowns in the state semifinal game against East Mississippi.

Not bad for a freshman who didn’t even expect a whole lot of playing time early in the season.

“At first I wasn’t getting much playing time because there were two sophomores ahead of me,” Davis said. “But the coaches got with me and told me to stay patient and be ready, because my turn was going to come. The sophomores ended up getting hurt and I ended up getting playing time and everything fell into place.”

And everything has fallen into place for the Wolfpack (9-1), who defeated East Mississippi 48-21 to earn a spot in the state championship game against Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The game will take place on the Co-Lin campus in Wesson, and will kick off at 5 p.m.

“We’re going hard in practice to make each other better,” Davis said. “We’re trying to go as far as we can go.”

Davis is far from the only former Natchez High Bulldog on the team.

He is joined by high school teammates Wesley Pendleton, Santarious Pollard, Ernest Jones, Charelle Carter, Zack Evans and Keith Dee.

“It’s good to be able to play against with them on the same team,” Davis said. “Some of them are sophomores and they give me tips on hope to be better. Knowing people you knew before and playing with them helps keep me more relaxed. It has helped me a lot.”

Former Trinity lineman Deacon Newman also plays for the Wolfpack, as do former Jefferson County players Jeffrey Collins, Davian Noble, Larry Banks and Percy Turner, and former Franklin County standouts Alan Hunt, Dehendret Collins, Carlos Johnson, Damien Burnett, Jordan Hunt, Greg Hunt, Bo Tillman, Gavin Weather, Tevin Thomas and Bobby O’Quinn.