Hot Division 7-1A football action kicks off Friday night’s localschedule when the West Lincoln Bears visit Troy Smith Field tobattle the Bogue Chitto Bobcats. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

In other local football, Brookhaven hosts Franklin County,Columbia Academy visits Brookhaven Academy, Loyd Star visitsPuckett and Enterprise is at Sumrall.

Area football action features Wesson at North Pike, LawrenceCounty at West Jones, McComb at Tylertown, Hazlehurst at Prentiss,Copiah Academy at Manchester, Jackson Academy at Parklane and SouthPike at Warren Central.

West Lincoln (1-1) is coming off a 21-15 victory over JacksonSt. Joseph. The Bears, coached by Don Holston, lost startingquarterback Corey Eastey who broke a small bone in his foot duringthe game. Cody Mitchell will replace Easley against BogueChitto.

”They (Bogue Chitto) are big and strong,” said Coach Holston.”They are quick. They have a good passer, fine receivers, strongrunningbacks. Terrific offensive lineman and a tough defense.”

Coach Holston explained that the loss of Easley would change theoffense Friday night with Mitchell taking over. “Offensively, wehave to change some things. Defensively, we will be the same.Hopefully we can execute Friday night.

“We need to execute and have a perfect game,” added Holston.”Block and tackle.”

Bogue Chitto (0-2) was handed a heart-breaking 24-22 loss in thefinal 10 seconds on a 25-yard field goal by North Pike’s J.R.Alexander last Friday.

“We know this is district play for us,” stated Bogue Chitto headcoach Carl Cole. “It’s a big one for us. We are 0-2 and they (WestLincoln) are 1-1. The Bears are greatly improved.

” They have been able to do some pretty good things. We’ve hadgood practice weather. We’ve continued doing the things we havebeen doing. We are healthy.”

In the loss to North Pike, Jonathan Cutrer was the leadingrusher for Bogue Chitto with 10 carries for 59 yards.

For West Lincoln, Stacy Fells sparked the Bears with 14 rushesfor 48 yards in the win over St. Joe.

Powering the West Lincoln defense was Alan Skates with 12tackles and a quarterback sack. Blake Howse made 11 tackles and 1sack.

Last year, West Lincoln lost both games to Bogue Chitto, 43-7and 51-0.

Brookhaven Academy faces District 4 AA opponentColumbia Academy at Cougar Field Friday night. Coach Doug Clanton’sCougars are coming off a 28-14 loss at the hands of PrentissChristian.

Columbia Academy was handed a 26-12 whipping at the hands ofSimpson County last Friday.

Brookhaven senior quarterback Jake Sessums led the running gamewith 9 rushes for 124 yards. Sessums completed 13 of 24 passes for152 yards and was intercepted twice.

The Cougar defense got 12 tackles from linebacker JeffreyWaycaster. Ben Davis had 10 stops.

Loyd Star smashed Salem 54-16 last Friday andhits the road for a trip to Puckett. Under the direction offirst-year head coach Anthony Hart, the Hornets are 2-0 on theseason.

Puckett thumped Lake 33-24 last Friday.

“They (Puckett) are very big,” said Hart. “They have two or 3guys that run real well. Puckett beat Lake 33-24 last week and theynever punted. They are good. They have a good club. We got a coupleof early breaks last year early on. It is going to be a tough onefor us. They are a senior team.”

Against Salem, fullback Adam Speeg sparked the Loyd Star runninggame with 10 rushes for 73 yards. Chase Coley, Daily LeaderOffensive Player of the Weeks, rushed 11 times for 59 yardsincluding three touchdowns. Coley caught 2 passes from quarterbackBrad Britt for 51 yards.

The Hornet defense got 13 tackles from Cody Covington. Speegfollowed with 9 tackles.

Last season, Loyd Star dumped Puckett 41-20.

Enterprise remains undefeated going to Sumrall. TheYellow Jackets, coached by Ricky Deere, handed Clarkdale a 40-8thumping last Friday.

Sumrall (2-0) got past Seminary 20-14 lastFriday.

In the win over Clarkdale, Enterprise was led byMonti Crotwell who rushed the football seven times for 113 yardsand a touchdown.

Jacket quarterback Justin Kyzar completed 6 of 11passes for 117 yards in the air show.

The Enterprise defense got 10 stops from ShermaineVaughn.

In last year’s contest, Enterprise gunned downSumrall 26-6.

Wesson handed St. Aloysius a 23-7 loss last Friday.Coach Ronald Greer’s Cobras (1-1) travel to Summit Friday to facethe North Pike Jaguars in Hurst STadium on the Southwest CommunityCollege campus.

North Pike (1-0) opened its season last Friday witha stunning 24-22 comeback win at Bogue Chitto in the final 10seconds of the game.

Sparking the Wesson ground game against St. Al wasRussell Robinson with 10 carries for 39 yards. Emanuel Sinclaircarried six times for 34 yards. Rushing twice for 34 yards wasMarcus Corley.

The Cobra defense was led by Chris Thornton with 13tackles and a fumbler recovery. Thornton was named this week’sDaily Leader Defensive Player of theWeek.

Wesson handed North Pike a 40-0 whipping lastseason.

Lawrence County saw its 15-game winning streak cometo an end last Friday in a 34-25 loss at the hands of Magee. TheMonticello-based Cougars, coached by Danny Adams, are 1-1 in the2000 season.

Friday night, Lawrence County will be on the roadfor their third game of the season at West Jones.

West Jones was handed a 34-14 whipping byTaylorsville last Thursday.

For Lawrence, quarterback Jerry Smith rushed 17times for 141 yards versus Magee. Johnathan Eley carried 13 timesfor 88 yards.

In last year’s contest, West Jones fell to LawrenceCounty 33-0.