BOGUE CHITTO — Bogue Chitto and Natchez Cathedral met Fridaynight in a Region 4-1A showdown, at Troy Smith Field. Both teamswere looking to lock up berths in the South State 1A playoffs,which start Nov. 14.

The visiting Green Wave defense kept the Bobcats at bay, enroute to an 18-14 win. The Bobcats, who had won 5 straight games,were derailed by 3 turnovers.

Bogue Chitto closes out the regular season with a Region 4-1Amatchup, against their Lincoln County neighbors; the EnterpriseYellow Jackets. Cathedral hosts St. Aloysius.

“We came out flat tonight,” said Bobcat head coach GarethSartin. “We just came off of a big win over Mt. Olive lastFriday.”

That was the tone for Bogue Chitto. The Bobcats turned thefootball over in some key situations, which in turn could havechanged the outcome. Sartin’s ballclub had 4 opportunities to takethe lead in the second half, but 3 turnovers and a failedfourth-down conversion attempt would certify a Cathedralvictory.

“They have a good ballclub, but turnovers hurt them in thesecond half,” said Green Wave head coach Ken Beasley, Sr. “Theyshut down our passing game in the second half.”

Cathedral (7-2, 5-2) took a 7-0 lead on their openingpossession. Runningback Jonathon Jackson scored on a 4-yard run, 3minutes, 23 seconds into the first quarter. John Paul Kenda tackedon the extra point kick. Jackson took a direct snap from center onthe final 2 plays of the drive, with the touchdown preceded by a14-yard run.

Kenda kicked a 27-yard field goal with 10:16 left in the firsthalf, to give Cathedral a 10-0 advantage.

The Bobcats (7-3, 6-2) would cut their deficit to 7-6 with 6:29left in the second period. Fullback Cory Washington scored on a22-yard touchdown run. The PAT kicked failed.

The Wave responded with 33 seconds left in the first half.Jackson scored his second touchdown on a 4-yard scamper to the endzone. Quarterback Turner Smith threw to Garrett Jones on thesuccessful 2-point conversion try and Cathedral led 18-6 at theintermission.

Smith was 13-for-15 passing in the first half for 98 yards,completing passes to 6 different receivers. Smith finished the gamecompleting 22-of-34 passes for 164 yards.

Bogue Chitto took their first possession of the second half, andfound paydirt with 9:54 left in the third period. Deonta Thompsonscored on a 39-yard run around left end, after a delayed pitch fromquarterback Michael Blackwell. Washington tacked on the 2-pointconversion run, but the turnovers would keep the Bobcats off thescoreboard for the remainder of the evening.

“Those turnovers really hurt us,” added Sartin. “We didn’ttackle well tonight.”

Washington would lead the Bobcat offensive with 161 yards on 19carries and a touchdown. Thompson had 39 yards and a touchdown on asingle carry, and caught 2 passes for 10 yards.

Bogue Chitto gained 348 yards of offense, with only 10 yardscoming through the air.

Defensively, Mario Perkins had 11 tackles forBC. Blackwell and Chad Moak each had 8 stops. Todd Davis had 9tackles. Davis, Antonio Barnes, Lyvanda Carmichael and RichardWilliams were in on several sacks. Chancy Wallace had a fumble.

The Bobcat defense limited Cathedral to 240 yards of totaloffense, including just 76 on the ground.