BOGUE CHITTO — Two first half goals from Bogue Chitto’s Walker Brady were enough to beat West Lincoln 3-1 Monday night. The third goal came on an error by the goal keeper late in the second half. 

Bogue Chitto guaranteed a playoff berth with the victory but fell three goals shy of the third place seed. As a result, the Bobcats will play Hazlehurst in the first round of the playoffs. A team Brady described as a challenge. 

West Lincoln on the other hand had to win the game by more than two goals to reach the playoffs. They did not get off to an ideal start conceding a corner kick and a subsequent goal when Brady steered a header in five minutes into the match. 

“On a corner kick I always go deep. It was up to him to get the ball up. He got it up and I headed it in,” Brady said. 

West Lincoln did not let the goal discourage them. Layton Bowlin converted a breakaway chance to equalize the match with 20 minutes left in the first half. The teams were on level terms for 13 minutes. 

Brady powered home a penalty kick to regain Bogue Chitto’s lead with seven minutes in the first half. Both teams dug into heavy competition with physical challenges and end to end soccer. West Lincoln’s Tyler Hall finished the match with 12 slide tackles and hustled all over the field.  

Bogue Chitto extended their lead with 10 minutes left to play in the match. A well struck corner kick was directed into the goal by West Lincoln’s goalkeeper. It was a costly error but in the goalkeeper’s defense, he was trying to push the ball over the cross bar and was unable. 

Bogue Chitto won the match 3-1 to secure their playoff spot. However, on the fifth tie-breaker, Bogue Chitto will be the fourth seed in the playoffs. Three goals were the difference for a squad that doubled its win total from last season. 

“It feels good to get the win. We were fighting for the third seed. We are going to play hard in the playoffs,” Brady said. “We have grown as a team, especially from last year. Our defense got a lot better. We got way better and I’m proud of our team. We will have to play hard in the payoffs.”