Bainbridge High School Head Football Coach Ed Pilcher liked the intensity his team played with during their 35-14 Friday night loss to the Northside Warner Robins High School Eagles, the state’s top ranked Class AAAA team.
It was the first Region 1-AAAA game of the season for both teams.
“We made some mistakes, but we were competitive and played with a lot of effort and intensity the whole game,” the Bearcats’ head coach said.
“I think we really moved the ball well on offense the entire first half. Northside made some defensive adjustments in the second half, but we did some good things offensively in the second half as well,” Pilcher said.
The coach said the team got some bumps and bruises, but they hope to have everybody back for this Friday night’s Region 1-AAAA game against Hardaway of Columbus at Centennial Field. Friday’s game between the Bearcats and Hardaway Golden Hawks will get underway at 7:30 p.m.
“Linebackers Jamario Brown and Brandon Linzy both have bruised ribs and will be evaluated,” Pilcher said.
“Northside Warner Robins had good special teams. Their punt and kickoff returner Steven Nelson hurt us with his speed. He returned a punt 49 yards for a touchdown and had two punt returns for 95 yards. He also had two kickoff returns for 68 yards including a long return of 40 yards,” Pilcher said.
“Northside’s special teams were able to get good field position all night. I thought quarterback Steven Bench and running back Aaron Hall both ran the ball well. We just need to learn how to finish.”

Yardstick

Bainbridge        Northside W.R.
10    First downs    16
29-192    Rushes yards    37-180
36    Passing yards    80
19-7-1    Passes-Att.-Comp.-Int.    17-8-1
48-228    Total yards-Att.    54-260
2-0    Fumbles-lost    2-2
10-85    Penalties-Yards    6-65
9-29.7    Punts-Avg.    4-39.3

Individual Statistics

Rushing—Aaron Hall 13-95 and 1 touchdown; Steven Bench 9-92; B.J. Cheatem 5-9; Shawn Samuels 1-0; Damian Bouie 1-(-4).
Receiving—Shawn Samuels 2-19; Aaron Hall 1-10 and 1 touchdown; Rashad Kelly 1-8; Cameron McDowell 1-5; Damian Bouie 1-(-2); Kalvin Coley 1-(-4).
Interceptions—Shawn Samuels 1-0.
Kickoff returns—B.J. Cheatem 1-16.
Punt returns—Shawn Samuels 2-3.