Lions skin Bears 48-6

DEWAYNE HOLLOWAY|dewayne@mcnews.online
BEARDEN – Mount Ida responded to a 6-6 first quarter tie with 42 unanswered points to defeat the Bearden Bears 48-6 at Bearden.
Mount Ida wasted no time scoring after opening the game with a 28 yard kick off return to the Bears’ 49 yard line. They marched downd the field in six plays and scored on a five yard run by Baylor Bates. The snap was fumbled on the PAT attempt and the Lions held a six point lead with 8:16 left in the first period.
Mount Ida’s defense forced a punt on the first drive for the Bears, but fumbled the ball away on the first play of the ensuing drive.

The Lions held Bearden to a third and 11 on the Mount Ida 40 yard line, but the Bears were able to score on a halfback pass from Trea Harding to Royce Cones with 4:38 left in the quarter.
Mount Ida put the game away with a flurry of scores in the final minutes of the opening quarter. Gavin Summitt returned the ensuing kick off 80 yards for a touchdown. Peyton Dorrell ran the two point conversion in to give the Lions a 14-6 lead with 4:20 to go in the first quarter.
The Lions continued to shine on special teams with Jacob Woodfield and Quinton Lowry flying to the ball to recover onside kick. Mount Ida marched 40 yards in six plays to score on a three yard run by Caleb White. The PAT just missed the mark and the lead was 20-6 with 2:40 to go in the quarter.
The defense stepped up on the next drive with an interception by Connor Sigman which he returned to the Bearden 41 yard line. Three plays later Karter Rowton hit Baylor Bates for a 25 yard touchdown pass. The PAT was good and the Lions held a 27-6 lead with 35 seconds left in the quarter.
Summitt’s number was called on defense when he killed a Bear drive on fourth and eight with a sack on the Bearden 29 yard line. Bates followed the big defensive stand with a 29 yard touchdown run on the first play of the ensuing drive. Chandler Perkins hit the PAT to give the Lions a 34-6 lead with 10:32 left in the quarter.
The Lions longest play of the half stared on their own 27 yard line inside the nine minute mark in the second quarter. They needed 12 plays to move 73 yards and score on a one yard run by White. The PAT was good and the Lions held a 41-6 lead with 2:21 left in the half.
Bearden was able to get a first down thanks to a horse collar penalty called against Mount Ida. However, the Lions pinned the Bears back on a seven yard loss thanks to Ashton Humphries and Bryce Ragsdale, followed by a sack by Silas Love for an eight yard loss to end the half.

Mount Ida forced a punt on the opening drive of the second half only to turn the ball over on downs. Ian McDowell ended the following Bear drive with an interception on the Lions’ 27 yard line. Mount Ida marched downfield and scored on a 49 yard run by Bates with 11:20 left in the final quarter. Perkins hit the PAT to wrap up the scoring for the night.
Quincy Lowry ended the final Bearden drive with an interception on the Mount Ida 37 yard line.

Mount Ida had 35 carries for 266 yards in the game and was 5-6 in the air for 96 yards.
Baylor Bates led the way with four touchdown, three on the ground and one in the air. He rushed for 58 yards on two carries and had three catches for 46 yards.
Caleb White, who wore number five in the game, had nine carries for 22 yards and two touchdowns.
Karter Rowton had three carries for 34 yards, Jacob Woodfield had five carries for 29 yards, Peyton Dorrell had five carries for 17 yards, and Connor Sigman had one carry for 31 yards.
Gavin Summitt had four carries for 19 yards, two catches for 50 yards and an 80 yard kick off return for a touchdown.

The Lions’ defense held the Bears to negative 32 yards on the ground. The Bears were 10-19 in the air for 80 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
Connor Sigman, Ian McDowell and Quinton Lowry each had an interception for Mount Ida.
The Lions will travel to Mineral Springs Friday to face the Hornets. Kick off will begin at 7 p.m.