The Bearcats’ first play of the night against the Pelham Hornets Friday was as explosive as head coach Jeff Littleton could have hoped for.

After a false start call that moved the Bearcats from their own 35-yard line to the 30, senior running back Tramaine McCray took a handoff from junior quarterback Elijah Tyler, found a hole, and carried the ball 70 yards for a touchdown.

“We had a few holes,” Littleton said about the offensive line, who blocked well enough to allow three touchdowns on the ground and give the varsity Bearcats a 20-0 win over the Hornets. “The offensive line looked good most of the night.”

McCray had 84 yards rushing for the night, moving the ball well and putting the Bearcats in scoring position.

Their second touchdown of the night came from another starting running back, Dalvin Spivie, who ran the ball 80 yards on his second carry of the night. He finished the night with 136 yards rushing.

“I was doing my steps good,” Spivie said. “I was working mostly on that tonight. What I need to work on is finding the holes a little better. Next week against Early County, I’ll hit the holes a little better than I did tonight.”

Tyler, who finished last season as a tailback, was 3-for-10 with 37 yards passing. Senior wide receiver was a chief target for Tyler, who completed two passes and ran for 15 yards on the night.

Bainbridge’s third touchdown came from freshman Dameon Pierce, who punched the ball in the end zone on a short 5-yard carry. Kicker Evan Oldaker barely missed the extra point.

A stingy defense kept the hornets from scoring, with senior defensive takcle Cam Richardson and senior defensive end Hudson Reynolds clogging up the trenches and stopping the running game before it had a chance to pick up.

“We played a lot of defensive lineman, we rotated them in and out,” Littleton said. “We had a combination of a lot of DBs playing.”

The varsity team stepped off the field after three quarters. The fourth quarter was dedicated to allowing freshman and the JV players a chance to perform. Sophomore quarterback Brett McLaughlin gave a handoff to senior Isaih Brown, who carried the ball 55 yards for a touchdown. He put it in the end zone again for the two point conversion, and the JV Bearcats finished the night with an 8-0 win.

“The intensity was good, but we have to realize we have to play four quarters; that’s only three quarters of football,” Littleton said about the Bearcats’ varsity performance. “We had just a bunch of good solid play.”