BOGUE CHITTO – In a battle of felines, the Bogue Chitto Bobcats showed that they were the dominant force, clobbering the Salem Wildcats 34-7 Friday night in Region 4-1A action at Troy Smith Field. The Bobcats amassed 340 yards on offense. On defense, BC held the Wildcats to 160 yards.

     “We got off to a great start in the first half,” said BC coach Gareth Sartin. “We managed to keep Salem off balance offensively and defensively.

     “We played an outstanding game defensively,” continued Sartin. “Salem did not have a major scoring threat until in the fourth quarter. Overall, I believe this was the best first half that we have played all year.”

     The No.1 ranked, in Class 1A, Bobcats (6-0, 4-0) came out of the gates on fire. Bogue Chitto’s defense set the tone of the game on the opening possession. They stuffed Salem and forced them to punt.

     The Bobcats took over with great field position, after a bad 7-yard punt from the Wildcats. BC marched on their opening drive in the first quarter and scored on a 10-yard pass from Brock Roberts to Germie Martin with 6:39 left. BC’s Cameron Price was four-of-five on extra points for the night.

     Senior running back Brandon Wells helped extend BC’s lead late in the first quarter. He sprinted 28 yards to paydirt with 2:24 remaining.

     In the second quarter, Bogue Chitto continued their onslaught. They scored two more touchdowns to increase their lead to 27-0 before halftime.

     Running back James Blackwell cashed in BC’s first touchdown in the second quarter, when he plunged in for a 1-yarder with 6:10 left. The Bobcats’ defense helped score the other touchdown. Jimmy McNulty intercepted a pass and ran it back 44 yards to paydirt with 4:24 remaining.

     During halftime, Bogue Chitto recognized past members of the their football team players, coaches and cheerleaders from the Class of 1964 until the present as they celebrated their 500th game.

     In the second half, both teams played hard in the tough, physical battle.

     Quarterback Brock Roberts scored the Bobcats’ final points of the game in the third quarter. He scrambled for a 27-yard TD with 10:38 remaining.

     Salem finally managed to get on the scoreboard late in the fourth quarter as their quarterback, TaeTae Smith, hooked up with David Carr for a 38-yard strike with 0:34 left.

     “We got beat by the better team,” said Salem coach Kenneth Murphy. “Bogue Chitto got after us from the start and disrupted our game plan. From that moment on we struggled to execute our offense and it carried over to our defense.”

     Defensively, Jer’mont’e “Scooter” Barnes led the Bobcats with 12 tackles. Jeremy Blackwell contributed 11 stops. James Blackwell provided 10 tackles.

     McNulty intercepted a pass. Zeke Perkins, Kayin Perkins and Damien Terrell recovered a fumble for Bogue Chitto.

     Zack Bacot, Shannon Damond and Carr were the defensive leaders for the Wildcats with 5 tackles apiece. X’zavian Williams had 4 stops. Carr recovered a fumble.

     Offensively, James Blackwell was the leading rusher for BC with 9 carries for 88 yards. Wells provided 9 rushes for 86 yards.

     Roberts led the Bobcats’ aerial attack, completing 7 of 13 passes for 85 yards and on touchdown. He also carried the ball 9 times for 68 yards.

     Martin led all receivers with 4 receptions for 48 yards.

     Smith led Salem. He completed 6 of 10 pass for 103 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Carr was the top receiver for the Wildcats with 4 catches for 75 yards. Stevie Quinn led the ground attack with 11 carries for 34 yards.

     Bogue Chitto invades Flowood to battle the Hartfield Academy Hawks Friday night. Salem (4-2, 3-1) returns home to Walthall County to host the Hinds AHS Bulldogs Friday. Kickoff is 7 p.m.