TYLERTOWN – The Salem Wildcats defeated the Bogue Chitto Bobcats 46-7 in Region 4-1A action Friday night at the Swamp in Walthall County.

Salem scored 13 unanswered points in the first quarter as the Bobcats struggled to find the end zone until the fourth quarter. The wildcats had a big scoring quarter that led them to a victory over the Bobcats. The Wildcats put together a good running attack against BC.

In the first quarter, the Wildcats found the end zone when Roger Nicks had a 52-yard touchdown run with the two-point conversion was no good. On the Bobcats offensive possession, BC put the football on the ground and fumbled it as Salem’s Juandarious Thompson recovered the turnover.

At the 5:12 mark, Shannon Damond, for the Wildcats, scored on a 17-yard touchdown run with Ethan Leal kick good. At the 2:19 mark, the Bobcats’ defense stood their ground and forced a turnover as Kobe Roberts came up with the football from the bottom of the pile.

In the second quarter, Salem’s Roger Nicks found the end zone on a 48-yard run with Ethan Leal’s kick successful. The Bobcats’ offense managed to start moving the ball down the field but ended up stalling out. BC’s senior kicker Cameron Price was unsuccessful on a 40-yard field goal try.

At the 4:07 mark, Stevie Quinn found the end zone on a 77-yard run, and Ethan Leal’s kick was no good. The Bobcats were unable to move the football against Salem’s defense, so they had to punt the football back to the Wildcats. With time expiring, Stevie Quinn was unsuccessful on his 35-yard field goal try as the Wildcats took a 26-0 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, both teams ended up fumbling the ball over to start off the second half. The Bobcats offense held the football for seven minutes but were not able to get any points out of it. So at 3:10 mark, the Bobcats turned the football over on downs. At the 1:13 mark, the Wildcats scored again on a 35-yard catch by JaMarius Mathews.

In the fourth quarter, BC finally got some positive yards when Tucker Lambert went around the end for a big gain. At the 5:06 mark, Kobe Roberts went right up the middle for a touchdown, and Cameron Price’s kick was good. Salem answered right back with a 10-yard touchdown run by Dylan Rushing and Ethan Leal’s kick successful.

Salem added one more score on a 61-yard run by Terry Coleman and the two-point conversion was unsuccessful. The Bobcats ended the game with LaFredrick Dillon’s big kick-off return.

Offensively for the Bobcats, Kobe Roberts had 17 carries for 70 yards. Tucker Lambert rushed nine times for 104 yards. Connor Douglas completed two of 13 passes for 11 yards. Dee Dillon had one catch for 10 yards. Trey Crittenden had one catch for 1 yard.

Defensively for the Bobcats, Matthew Black led the team with six tackles and a sack. Will Fauver contributed with five tackles. Brandon Blackwell and Brandon McKenzie both had three tackles apiece. Kobe Roberts provided two tackles and a fumble recovery.

The Salem Wildcats will be on the road next Friday night to battle Sacred Heart. The Bobcats return home to host the Stringer Red Devils next Friday night at 7 p.m. for senior night at Troy Smith Field.