The West Lincoln bears (3-5, 0-2) hosted division 7 2A rival Amite County Trojans (3-5, 2-0) Friday night on Perry Miller Field.

West Lincoln recognized senior football players and cheerleaders prior to the contest.

In the first quarter, the Bears recovered an onside kick after being declared a live ball when a Trojan player made contact with the ball. West Lincoln was directed by senior quarterback Ty Forman as the Bears relied heavily on the running game on the opening play but were forced to punt on 4th down.

Amite County started their drive to the endzone deep in their own territory on the 16-yard line. The Trojans put the ball on the ground and after collecting three first downs were able to cross into the endzone for six points and follow with a successful two-point conversion.

The Trojans’ defense pinned the Bears deep on the kickoff and forced them to punt. Amite County marched down the field once and were almost stopped on fourth down by the Bears but the running game allowed the Trojans to collect a first down and later another touchdown and 2-point conversion to take the lead 16-0.

Offensively senior running back Kodie Carroll picked up a first down for the Bears followed by a 21-yard run by Junior Jayden Rushing crossing into Amite County territory. The first quarter ended with West Lincoln on a fourth and sixth. The Bears turned the ball over on downs to start the second quarter.

Amite County scored again early in the second quarter but the West Lincoln’s defense stopped the two-point conversion as the Trojans led 22-0.

West Lincoln’s offense struggled to put the ball into the endzone but defensively came up with some big stops in the second quarter. The Trojans got on the scoreboard again and a 2-point conversion advanced the score 30-0.

Jade Use dug into the Trojan defense and capitalized on several first downs. Rushing ran for 25 yards to put the bears in the red zone. West Lincoln was hit with penalties and was unable to get a first down or get points on the board. The Trojans ran for another touchdown but were unsuccessful on the two-point conversion ending the first half 36-0.

The Bears and Trojans fought hard in a scoreless third quarter. Fourth quarter action started with Amite County in possession as they took the ball down the field to score again to secure a 44-0 lead.

Late in the fourth, the Trojans punched in their final touchdown of the night and a successful two-point conversion to claim a 52-0 victory.

Coach Willie Brumfield said “missed opportunities and mistakes would sum up tonight. While trying to have some key players recover fully from prior injuries, we were our own worst enemy. We need to be more consistent on both sides of the ball. However, we played extremely well in the third quarter, as we have done all year. Apparently I need to swap my halftime and pre-game speeches. We continue our SEC tour next week at East Marion.”

Offensively the bears were held to 174 total yards. Forman completed two of 12 passes for 20 yards and one interception. The Bears rushed for 154 yards on 37 carries. Rushing led the rushing attack with 10 carries for 89 yards followed by Use with 15 carries for 48 yards.

Charles Wayne Smith led the defense with 10 solo tackles, four assisst and 1 sack. Aaron Byrd contributed 8 solo tackles and four assists. Rushing collected three solo tackles and five assists. Bryce Temple assisted with four solo tackles and two assist.

West Lincoln continues division play next week on the road as they travel to Columbia on Thursday to face East Marion. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.