BOGUE CHITTO – The Bogue Chitto Bobcats remain undefeated after winning a shootout against Natchez Cathedral Green Wave 51-48 Friday night in Region 4-1A football action at Troy Smith Field.

“Good way to get a win,” said BC coach Gareth Sartin. “Natchez Cathedral got a great passing game, and we were able to come up with five big inceptions. We got off to a slow start, but we were able to pick it up. I am very pleased with our guys of fighting back and getting a win.”

The Bobcats (3-0, 1-0) came out of the gate very sloppy. In the first quarter, the Bobcats defense came up with the first inception of the game at the 9:05 mark of the first quarter. Eli Holmes of the Bobcats came up with it but later fumbled and the Green Wave came up with the fumble recovery.

At the 4:04 mark, Cathedral quarterback Thomas Garrity connected with Ishmael Blackmon on a 44-yard touchdown pass. Nic Webb’s kick was good.

Both teams did not score any more until Natchez Cathedral connected on a 63-yard pass to Ishmael Blackmon with 0:40 remaining in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Cathedral took a commanding 21-0 lead after Thomas Garrity connected to Ishmael Blackmon on a 37-yard touchdown pass at the 6:15 mark.

The Bobcats finally gets on the board when Brock Roberts hooked up with Dennis Rogers on a 24-yard touchdown pass. BC’s Cameron Price kick was good.

Finally, BC defense came alive when senior linebacker Jermaine Blackwell got an interception with 1:15 remaining in the half. The Bobcats’ offense was able to cut the lead down to eight points when senior quarterback Brock Roberts connected with Eli Holmes on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 0:27 remaining in the half. The Green Wave led 21-13 at the half.

At the start of the second half, the Bobcats came out on fire and were able to win the shootout with Cathedral.

In the third quarter, the Bobcats’ offense was running on all cylinders. Blackwell rushed for a 52-yard touchdown with 11:41 mark. Roberts converted the two-point conversion to tie the ballgame up at 21 all.

The Bobcats was able to take the lead at the 8:05 mark when Roberts connected with Damien Terrell on a 30-yard touchdown pass. Cameron Price added a 36-yard field goal for the Bobcats with 3:07 remaining. BC led at the end of the third quarter 31-21.

In the fourth quarter, Natchez Cathedral recovered two on-side kicks to get back in the ballgame. Both recoveries resulted in the offense scoring, but the Bobcats still wanted to take things back.

Dennis Rogers and Damien Terrell came up big and scored on two big passing touchdowns. At the 5:33 mark Damien Terrell came up with the fourth interception of the night. The biggest inception of the game came when Dennis Rogers got it and ran 60 yards to paydirt.

The Bobcats gave Cathedral some of their own medicine when the Bobcats recovered an on-side kick with 4:18 remaining in the game. The BC offense was able to hold onto the ball and milk some of the clock and won the shootout with the Cathedral.

Offensively, Roberts was offensive player of the game for the Bobcats with 21 carries for 169 yards. He also completed nine of 26 and passed for 231 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Blackwell helped BC’s ground attack with 10 carries for 117 yards. Dennis Rodgers was the top receiver with two catches for 74 yards, Damien Terrell contributed two catches for 54 yards, and Eli Holmes had one catch for 16 yards.

Defensively, Jeremy Blackwell led the Bobcats with 10 tackles. Brock Roberts contributed with eight tackles and a fumble recovery. Damien Terrell had six stops and an interception. Dakota McGary and Theo Simmons had five tackles each. Jermaine Blackwell and Eli Holmes had an interception apiece. Dennis Rodgers had two interceptions and returned one for a touchdown.

Both teams will be on the road next Friday. Natchez Cathedral is on the road to Utica to face the Bulldogs of Hinds AHS. The Bobcats invade Covington County to face the Pirates of Mount Olive. Both games will be played next Friday night at 7 p.m.