Halfback Terry Reynolds threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Craig Cooper with less that a minute remaining in the game Thursday in Leesburg, giving the Bainbridge eighth-grade Bearcats a 6-0 victory over the Lee County eighth-grade Trojans.

Cooper tried to dive in for the two-point conversion but was stopped just short.

Decatur County Middle School football coordinator and eighth-grade Bearcats head coach Scott Starr said his entire defense played well Thursday.

“Craig Cooper, who scored our touchdown, also came up from his defensive free safety position to make a big interception,” Starr said. “Brent Noble also had a good game at rover.

“For our first game, I thought we played pretty well on both sides of the ball. Now we have to get ready for Americus-Sumter County.”

The Bearcats will open their home season next Thursday, Sept. 10, against the Americus-Sumter County eighth-grade Panthers at 5 p.m. at Centennial Field.

They will host the Washington eighth-grade Tigers of Cairo Thursday, Sept. 17, at 5 p.m. before returning to the road for a Thursday, Sept. 24, game against the Worth County eighth-grade Rams at 5 p.m. in Sylvester.