A pair of Lincoln County rivals square off in Region 4-1A actionFriday night when the Bogue Chitto Bobcats entertain the WestLincoln Bears at Troy Smith Field. Game time is 7 p.m.

In other Lincoln County action, Brookhaven hosts Florence,Enterprise is at Hinds AHS and Loyd Star invades McLaurin.

Bogue Chitto (7-1, 7-1) is tied with Mt. Olive (7-1, 7-1) forsecond place in the Region 4-1A standings. The ‘Cats, coached byGareth Sartin, are ranked No. 6 in the AP Class 1A high schoolpoll.

The ‘Cats had an open date last week. Bogue Chitto’s last gamewas a 26-13 win over Pisgah on Oct. 19.

West Lincoln, coached by Brooks Burns, fell to St. Aloysius56-38 last week. The Bears are 0-9 overall and 0-8 in regionplay.

“West Lincoln has had a hard luck season,” said Sartin. “Theydrive the ball, then turn it over. They drove the ball good againstSt. Al last week. They have a big line. We have to stop theirrunning game. That’s pretty much what they rely on.

“Defensively. they play a 5-man front most of the time,” addedSartin. “They do different things with linebackers and theirsecondary.”

In the victory over Pisgah, junior quarterback Seth Avantsrushed the football 20 times for 119 yards and scored a touchdownfor the ‘Cats. In the air, Avants completed 5 of 15 passes for 103yards. Cole Laird followed with 14 carries for 115 yards.

Brian Robinson led the Bogue Chitto receivers with 3 catches for77 yards.

Defensively, Austin Jones sparked the ‘Cats with 15 tackles.Making 11 stops each were Fred Tillman, Scotty Brown and Laird.

“We are ready to play this Friday,” stated Sartin. “We need toreally get our running game going and focus on blocking. That isour main strength, our offensive line and our running game.”

Burns said the Bobcats are a strong team.

“I think Bogue Chitto is better than they have been since I havebeen here,” said Burns. “Their line is big and strong and moveswell. Offensively, (Seth) Avants makes them go. He makes gooddecisions. He gets the plays run. When Avants runs the ball, he isvery dangerous with his quickness and speed.

“Defensively, they are very physical,” continued Burns. “Theyhave 11 guys that can fly to the football. Their middle linebackerNo. 60 (Fred Tillman) moves well. He hits hard.”

West Lincoln’s Jamie Rushing carried 19 times for 77 yards inthe loss to St. Al last week. Jeremy Byrd rushed 6 times for 101yards. Carrying 18 times for 59 yards was Cardell Porter.

Defensively, the Bears were led by Kolby Burris and Rushing with9 tackles and 6 solos apiece. Cole Wallace finished with 6 stopsand 2 solos.

“Our offensive line played real well last week,” added Burns.”The running backs ran the ball well. We did a good job executingwhat we wanted to do. We eliminated the offensive penalties lastweek. We didn’t eliminate turnovers.”

Starting on the offensive line for the Bears are Daniel Smith atcenter; Steven Schepers at left guard; Kolby Burris at right guard;Joseph Howard at left tackle; Josh Howard at right tackle. Alsoalternating is Michael King at tackle. Daniel Frisk played tightend but has been moved to wingback.

Last year, Bogue Chitto rolled over West Lincoln 45-6.

Enterprise faces a tough opponent in the HindsAHS Bulldogs at Utica. The Fighting Yellow Jackets, coached by RoeBurns, stand 2-7 on the season and are winless in Region 6-2A playwith an 0-5 worksheet.

Last week, Enterprise fell to St. Andrew’s 31-18 and Hinds AHSwas beaten by South Leake 19-9. The Bulldogs are 1-8 on the seasonand 1-4 in region play.

Enterprise quarterback Cody Brister completed 5 of 9 passes for105 yards and a touchdown in the loss to St. Andrew’s. The topreceiver was Deon Pendleton with 3 receptions for 96 yards.

The Jacket running game was directed by Pendleton with 13carries for 97 yards. Josh Nations rushed 10 times for 19yards.

On defense, MT Martin led Enterprise with 12 tackles. Followingwith 7 stops was Peter Aleman.

Loyd Star closes out its season on the road atMcLaurin for a Region 6-2A battle with the Tigers. The Hornets,under first-year head coach Ryan Ross, stand 3-5 overall and are1-4 in region play.

Last week, Loyd Star fell to St. Joe 28-7 and McLaurin fell toWesson 21-14 in overtime. The Tigers are 2-3 in the region and 4-5on the season.

Starting on the Hornet offensive line are Allen Wheeler, righttackle; Nathan Schroder, right guard; Adam Smith, center; GrantBritt, left guard and Trey Reid, left tackle.

In the loss to St. Joe, Loyd Star quarterback Joseph Shelbycompleted 12 of 30 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown. AntoineSmith led the receivers with 5 catches for 92 yards.

On the ground, the Hornets’ top rusher was senior running backDonald Shorter with 125 yards.

On the night, Loyd Star finished with 367 offense yards and St.Joe followed with 214 yards.

Last season, McLaurin nipped Loyd Star 22-20.