The West Lincoln Bears lost Friday’s home non-conference season opener against the Mount Olive Pirates 26-20.

The Bears came out early as they attacked the Pirates and put the ball in the end zone twice in the first three minutes of the game to lead 12-0. The Bears converted on the two-point attempt on the second touchdown to make it 14-0.

The Pirates didn’t wait long to fight back, adding a touchdown of their own, but failing to complete the two-point conversion, closing the gap to 14-6.

By the last tick of the clock, the Bears had scored one more touchdown and the Pirates added another two scores of their own. Neither team was able to convert their PAT attempts.

The final score was 26-20, Mount Olive over West Lincoln.

“I though the kids competed hard,” said West Lincoln Head Coach BJ Smithhart. “They were great.”

Though they played tough, some errors on the field kept them from the win.

“We had a couple of mistakes that cost us,” he said.

Smitthart said the loss hit them hard. But he believes his team will learn from it and play better next week against the Salem Wildcats on the road.

“They’re dejected that they lost because they played so well,” he said. “It’s going to make them work harder. I think everybody did well.”