The Westside Macon Seminoles defeated the Bainbridge Bearcats 17-0 in a hard-fought game on Friday night in Macon.

The Seminoles scored first on a flea-flicker play on the first play from scrimmage. Westside quarterback Cameron Jones threw to DeVonte Gilbert behind the line of scrimmage and Gilbert threw downfield to Rick Merritt. Merritt pulled it in along the right sideline at the Bearcats’ 25, cut to the middle and ran in for the touchdown with 11:41 left in the first quarter. German Ramirez kicked the extra point to make it 7-0 in Westside’s favor.

With 6:49 left in the first quarter, Ramirez kicked a 34-yard field goal to make it 10-0. The key play in the drive was a 15-yard Robert Brown run from the Bearcats’ 28 to their 13. A 15-yard penalty against Westside moved the ball back to the 28.

Westside’s Adrian Bentley ran a yard for a touchdown on the fourth play of the second quarter with 11:16 left. Ramirez kicked the extra point to 17-0. Carswell got a yard a to the 18. He then right for 16 and a first down at the 2. Robert Brown got a yard to the 1, setting up the touchdown.

Westside’s Merritt ran 26 yards from his own 45 to the Bearcats’ 29 on the last play of the third quarter. On the first play of the fourth quarter Brown ran 19 to the 10.

Brown ran left to the goal line and fumbled into the end zone. The Bearcats recovered and got the ball back on their own 20. From the 20, Gaines threw to Thomas Smiley for 15 yards and a first down at the 35. Then Gaines threw to Hudson for nine yards and a first down at the BHS 44. Then Gaines sneaked for 4 to the 48. Hudson caught a 12-yard pass from Gaines to the Westside 40. The Seminoles intercepted the pass, stopping the drive.

In the fourth quarter, defensive tackle Qwatavaus Middleton and defensive back Shawn Samuels both laid on the ground after the play had ended. While Middleton was helped to his feet fairly quickly,

Middleton and Kenny Jacobs, the Bearcats’ other starting defensive tackle, stifled the middle rushes, with most of the Seminoles’ yardage coming from pass plays and outside runs.

The Seminoles’ Brown led the offensive attack of the fourth-ranked team in Georgia’s Class AAAA.

With the loss, the Bearcats are now 4-1 overall and 2-1 in Region 1-AAAA. Next Friday, Oct. 2, the Bearcats will face the Jones County Greyhounds at Centennial Field at 7:30 p.m.