The rains vanished by game time Friday night but the heat andhumidity hung around William E. “Sambo” Smith Field for the 2000Possum Bowl.

The rains vanished by game time Friday night but the heat andhumidity hung around William E. “Sambo” Smith Field for the 2000Possum Bowl. Despite the humid, damp conditions, the host Loyd StarHornets handed the Bogue Chitto Bobcats a 41-8 loss before anenthusiastic crowd.

Loyd Star improved to 4-1 with the win and Bogue Chitto fell to1-4 with the loss.

“I felt like we were really ready tonight,” said Loyd Star headcoach Anthony Hart. “Bogue Chitto has a good team. They (BogueChitto) have faced so much adversity. They have a lot of goodplayers.”

The Hornets totaled 347 yards on offense with 338 yards comingon 44 carries. The Bobcats had 64 total offensive yards.

Loyd Star took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards to scoreon a five-yard run by junior runningback Derrick Johnson. JodyBritt kicked his first of five extra points to give the Hornets a7-0 lead over the Bobcats with 9:46 on the clock.

At the 6:59 mark in the first quarter, the Hornets began theirsecond scoring drive of the night from their own 20-yard line.Senior wingback Chase Coley broke loose and scrambled 20 yards forthe TD to give the Hornets a 14-0 edge.

With 2:19 remaining in the first quarter, Loyd Star juniordefensive back Seth Britt intercepted Bobcat quarterback JacobLeggett at the Loyd Star 35 and returned it 65 yards for the scoreand a 20-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Loyd Star tacked on two more touchdownsto lead Bogue Chitto 34-0 at the end of the first half. The Hornetsmoved the football 62 yards and scored at the 9:33 mark on atwo-yard run over the middle by junior fullback Adam Speeg. LoydStar followed with a 70-yard march and scored a 13-yard touchdownrun by Johnson with 5:06 left.

Loyd Star had a touchdown called back at the 8:40 mark in thefirst quarter when senior defensive back Deke Purdy intercepted aLeggett pass for a 23-yard return. The Hornets were flagged forholding.

The Hornets scored their final TD of the game on their firstpossession in the third quarter following a fumble recovery bylinebacker Jermaine Hunter at the Bogue Chitto 35. Several playslater, junior runningback Demarcus Barnes broke loose for a 16-yardtouchdown to give Loyd Star a 41-0 lead with 6:56 showing.

Bogue Chitto punched in its touchdown at the 11:12 mark in thefourth quarter when freshman tailback David Spann rounded the rightcorner for a 30-yard score, capping a 76-yard drive. Scott Edwardsran for the two-point conversion and cut the deficit to 41-8.

“It’s been a difficult time,” said Bogue Chitto head coach CarlCole following the game. Cole had been in Houston, Texas, most ofthe week with his father who was receiving treatment for a heartproblem.

“I’ll take some of the blame,” Cole added. “We didn’t play likewe did last week (against Puckett). Now we have district(Enterprise). We have to gear up for them.” It’s the first Division7-1A game for both Lincoln County teams.

The top rusher for Loyd Star was Johnson with 15 carries for 127yards. Barnes finished with 107 yards on eight carries. Coleyrushed four times for 68 yards. Rushing five times for 24 yards wasSpeeg. Matthew Delaughter finished with five rushes for 18yards.

Hornet senior quarterback Brad Britt competed 1 of 2 passes fornine yards to junior wide receiver Cass Brister.

Defensively, Hunter directed Loyd Star with ninetackles. Casey Warren and Speeg made seven tackles apiece. Makingsix stops was Beau Morrison. Seth Britt intercepted twopasses.

Loyd Star travels to Natchez to meet Cathedral (0-4)Friday night for a Division 6-2A test and Bogue Chitto entertainsEnterprise (3-1) for a Division 7-1A matchup. Game times are 7:30p.m.