Inside Sports Video

The Lincoln County showdown between Enterprise and Bogue Chitto on Harry Cole Field felt like a tennis match at the US Open as the teams traded scores back and forth all night like a rally between two players that were hugging the baseline.

The visiting Bobcats (2-1) built a double-digit lead after halftime but had to hold off a late charge from the EAC Yellow Jackets (1-2) in a 42-40 win for Bogue Chitto.

“It was a good win,” said Bogue Chitto head coach Gareth Sartin after the victory. “We made some bad mistakes and penalties late that we should not have had. The line blocked well all game and we were good up front all night.”

Sartin was animated after the final horn as he made his team kneel for a huddle while he let his displeasure at the penalties and mistakes be known.

It was a similar scene at the other end of Harry Cole Field as Enterprise head coach Trey Woodard had his postgame talk with the Yellow Jackets.

The game didn’t end until after 10 p.m. and it was slowed to a crawl at times by an officiating crew that huddled to talk about every decision, big or small. There are Baptist churches in Lincoln County that meet less in a year as a congregation than these officials met to talk through their flags on Friday night.

Bogue Chitto went ahead 42-26 with 6:18 left in the game on a 20-yard touchdown run by senior Ken May. There was a fracas in the endzone after May’s score and the officials called multiple unsportsmanlike penalties on both teams. 

After a lengthy meeting and then talks with both coaches by the head official and then more talking as a officiating crew, the Bobcats kicked off following the touchdown on their own 10-yard line.

The other big takeaway from all the flags was that Enterprise junior quarterback Landon McNickles had been disqualified from the rest of the contest after picking up a penalty on the play.

Junior Daylan Barden moved to the QB position and on the first play following the Bogue Chitto kickoff, Barden ran around the right side of his line for a 40-yard touchdown. The 2-point try was good, and the Yellow Jackets had pulled within 42-34.

Again, after that touchdown, there was more barking between the teams and that had the Yellow Jackets kick off from their own 25-yard line after another round of flags.

Junior kicker/defensive lineman Pruitt Falvey struck a hard, low kick that bounced off a Bogue Chitto receiver and was recovered by Enterprise sophomore Rayjayveon Haygood. 

Barden, the reigning Daily Leader offensive player of the week, again ran past the Bogue Chitto defense, this time for a 65-yard touchdown that came with 5:49 left in the game to pull Enterprise within 42-40.

The 2-point conversion to try for the tie never developed after a bobbled snap and the BC defense tackled Barden well short of the goal line.

Enterprise then had one of its best defensive stands of the game as 6-foot-4 junior defensive lineman Jaden Cothern sacked BC quarterback Jax Leggett for a long loss and that led to an eventual punt from Bobcat senior kicker Andrew Merrell.

The Yellow Jackets got the ball back with 2:43 remaining in the game on the BC 47-yard line. 

The potential game winning drive never materialized though as the Bobcat defense charged in, led by May at linebacker, to strip the ball away and create a turnover. 

After picking up a first down, Sartin had his team kneel out the final play and leave Enterprise with the two-point win.

Bogue Chitto led 21-20 at halftime after an action packed first two quarters.

Leggett hit Isaiah Collins for a 28-yard touchdown pass to put BC on the board in the first quarter. Enterprise answered with a scoring pass from McNickles to Barden, but the conversion was no good and BC led 7-6.

Collins scored later in the first quarter on a short touchdown run.

McNickles and the EAC offense answered though as he raced down the sideline for a 43-yard touchdown with 14 seconds left in the first quarter. 

One thing that Bogue Chitto has is a lot of options when it comes to running the ball. Collins carried the load early and May had some big runs late. Sprinkled throughout the rest of the game the ball went to players such as Leggett, sophomore Jayden Poole and sophomore fullback Randy Crisler.

In the second quarter, the Bobcats got a long scoring run from senior Easton Sartin. Sartin put his head down and plowed through an EAC tackler for a touchdown that put his team ahead 21-12 with 9:55 left until halftime.

Enterprise answered right back though, this time with Barden taking the snap. McNickles had his helmet come off on the previous play, an issue he dealt with multiple times in a loss to Loyd Star to start the season.

With their starting quarterback forced to the sideline for one play, Barden came in and took the snap and ran 45 yards on 3rd-and-3 for a touchdown. McNickles scored on the 2-point try to make things 21-20 at the half. 

Poole scored on a 30-yard run in the third quarter and that started a surge of momentum where it looked like Bogue Chitto had the game well in hand.

Sartin, playing as a linebacker, grabbed McNickles and took him down with a tackle that looked something like a belly-to-back suplex you’d see on Monday Night Raw.

The ball came loose and was recovered by Bogue Chitto junior Jabari Stafford. It was the second fumble recovery of the game for Stafford.

Sartin then scored on the next play from the EAC 12-yard line to give his team a 35-20 advantage. 

Like Novak Djokovic returning a serve at Flushing Meadows, Enterprise again answered the score.

McNickles scored on a 25-yard run that saw him lower his head and absorb contact on the way to the endzone. The play was the first of the fourth quarter and after a failed conversion, BC led 35-26.

That set the stage for the long final period where the Jackets got close at the end, but never got ahead.

The 2A Bobcats are on the road next week at Ethel High. The 1A Yellow Jackets will also travel next week as they play at Leake County.