LITTLE CYPRESS — Getting themselves back on track with a huge road win at Huffman last week, the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Battlin’ Bears can help themselves out in a major way this Friday as far as trying to get a playoff berth when they take on the Cleveland Indians at Battlin’ Bear Stadium.

The Bears (3-5, 1-2) snagged their first District 10-4A Division I win last week by going to Huffman and smacking the Falcons 41-26.

Cleveland (3-5, 0-3), meanwhile, has struggled in 10-4A play. The Indians are looking for their first district win after falling to Navasota 37-9 last week.

The Bears came up with a solid defensive effort against the Falcons last week, limiting Huffman to 275 yards.

LC-M will enter the contest averaging 311.8 yards a game in their spread offense.

Junior tailback Chris Winters shredded the Huffman defense for 160 yards on 22 carries and a pair of touchdowns. Winters now has 786 yards on 141 carries for the season.

Bear quarterback Beau Bickham passed for 160 yards and a pair of TDs in the win last week and went over the 1,000-yard passing mark. He has now completed 74-of-140 passes for 1,086 yards.

His favorite targets has certainly been receiver Katon Brown and Ronald Guillory. Those two combined for eight more catches for 124 yards last week.

Fullback J’Lon Douglas certainly adds to the mix with over 300 yards rushing.

The Bears will face a Indian team that has been outscored 112-25 in district play.

The Indians, despite struggling on defense, has been able to move the ball well offensively behind a solid running game. Cleveland will tangle with a Bear defense that has allowed 360.1 yards a game.

Cleveland is led junior quarterback Jett Hendrix.  He’ll be joined in the Indian backfield by junior running back Dylan Reeves with junior Monroe Harding and sophomore Montrail Searles also seeing time at running back.  Returning junior tight end David Reeves and senior starter Japarius Fletcher will be the likely passing targets for Hendrix.

David Reeves will be joined by junior Nick De La Rosa to hold things down on the defensive line.  Dylan Reeves and returning junior starter Monroe Harding will be joined by junior Jon Salcido at linebacker.  Senior Dawayne Smith will be featured in a secondary which will also include Fletcher and Hendrix, who was a 2^nd team all-district pick in 2015 at safety.

The Bears lead the all-time series 9-2-1. They have won seven matchups in a row including last year’s 55-6 blowout win at home.

 

Series history

1970: Cleveland 22, LC-M 15

1971: LC-M 21, Cleveland 15

1976: LC-M 0, Cleveland 0

1977: LC-M 19, Cleveland 6

1978: Cleveland 28, LC-M 13

1979: LC-M 21, Cleveland 12

1980: LC-M 12, Cleveland 0

1981: LC-M 21, Cleveland 7

1997: LC-M 52, Cleveland 14

2009: LC-M 39, Cleveland 36

2014: LC-M 35, Cleveland 20

2015: LC-M 55, Cleveland 6