Bainbridge High School Bearcats head football coach Ed Pilcher described his team’s 17-14 victory over the Cairo High School Syrupmakers Friday night in Cairo as “big.”

“All wins are big, but some wins are bigger than others,” coach Pilcher said.

The Syrupmakers’ offense was operated by senior quarterback Steven Bench who started for the Bearcats last season before transferring.

“Steven came up to me after the game and said ‘Good game, coach,’” Pilcher said. “He is a good young man and I wished him well the rest of the season. He also talked with some of our players after the game.

“Our senior quarterback Quincy Fortson managed the game very well. He is constantly improving. The whole team was totally focused and played with intensity the entire 48 minutes.

“I thought our kicking game was good overall. Daniel Provence’s 43-yard field goal, which could have gone much further, gave us a 10-7 lead as we went to halftime, and that was big. We were out of position some on our kickoff coverage.

“Our defense really came up big in some key situations. I thought senior defensive tackle Shammai Wilburn and junior linebackers B.J. Cheatem and Marshall Mack all had strong defensive efforts against Cairo.

“We came up with big plays on both sides of the ball when we needed them. Junior running back Terry Lewis ran very well. He had 19 carries for 91 yards and scored both of our touchdowns.”

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