BOGUE CHITTO — It has been 12 years since the last time a Bogue Chitto team won a playoff game. Friday night, Bogue Chitto ended a drought by beating St. Andrews 34-12 to advance past the first round of the MHSAA 2A Playoffs.

Bogue Chitto’s game started off ideally after forcing a turnover on downs to start the game. Jayden Poole scored on a 10 yard touchdown run to put the Bobcats up 6-0 with 7:19 in the first quarter. St. Andrews answered with a 52 yard touchdown pass on a blown coverage to tie the game at 6-6 with 7:09 in the first quarter.

A defensive battle ensued as Bogue Chitto turned the ball over on downs after driving to the 23-yard line of St. Andrews. Bogue Chitto fumbled the football on their next offensive series after driving to the 10-yard line of St. Andrews. St. Andrews fumbled the football at their own 42 a few plays later. Maxim Yarborough was credited with the fumble recovery for Bogue Chitto.

St. Andrews forced a punt and started to drive down the field. Paxton Waldrop made a huge play for Bogue Chitto when he intercepted a pass at the Bobcat’s’ 34-yard line. Bogue Chitto struck on the next play when Poole dashed 66 yards down the field to put the Bobcats up 14-6 with 2:13 in the second quarter.

Bogue Chitto was pinned in at the eight-yard line on the next offensive series after a great punt by St. Andrews.

The ball was put in the hands of Poole who found a hole and raced 92 yards for a touchdown with 27.7 seconds left in the first half. Bogue Chitto led 20-6 at half.

“I just saw green grass and the offensive line gave me a good hole. I took off,” Poole said.

Poole was not the only ball carrier to have a great game. Jabari Stafford bulldozed opponents with each rush and scored the first touchdown of the second half on a 10-yard rush. Bogue Chitto led St. Andrews 28-6 with 8:04 in the third quarter.

Isaiah Collins would put an exclamation point on the night when he caught a 45-yard touchdown pass to put Bogue Chitto up 34-6 with 2:29 in the third quarter.

Defensively, the Bobcats continued to hold strong. It was not until 4:54 in the fourth quarter that St. Andrews scored on a touchdown pass to make it 34-12.

Bogue Chitto drove to inside the 10-yard line at the end of the game and opted to knee out the clock in victory formation. After the final seconds ticked off, players shook the hands of St. Andrews and sprinted to the sidelines to celebrate with the Bogue Chitto band.

“It feels really good to win. We haven’t won a playoff game in a while. We played hard,” Poole said. “We can accomplish anything we put our mind to. We have a tough match-up next week.”

Bogue Chitto will play Heidelberg in the second round of the MHSAA 2A Playoffs.