LITTLE CYPRESS – After going through a tough first week of the football season, both the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Battlin’ Bears and the West Orange-Stark Mustangs will look to snag their first win of the season Friday night when they battle in the Orange Bowl at Battlin’ Bear Stadium.

The Bears (0-1) are coming off a hard 40-8 loss to Class 3A power Woodville on the road last week while the Mustangs (0-1) are licking their wounds after a tight 19-18 setback to the Class 5A Nederland Bulldogs.

After a 40-game winning streak and four straight trips to the Class 4A Division II State Championship Game, a young group of Mustangs will look to erase a two-game losing skid when they take on their old rivals Friday night.

The Mustangs will look to bounce back after a mistake-prone game against the Bulldogs.

WO-S outgained Nederland 235-190 but turnovers, special teams snafus and drive-killing penalties were too much to overcome.

The Mustangs turned the ball over four times, missed three extra-point attempts and had nine penalties for 75 yards.

The Bears, meanwhile, could not get anything going on the road against a very stout Woodville team.

LC-M, also a very young team, struggled against a Woodville unit that went 9-2 a season ago.

The Bear defense allowed the Eagles’ vaunted rushing attack to pile up 523 yards on 46 rushing attempts.

Meanwhile, the Eagle defense stymied the Bear offense, limiting LC-M to a minus 11 yards.

LC-M’s lone score came on a 77-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by return man Darien Williams. Running back Landon Bearden was the Bears’ top ground gainer with 14 yards on five carries.

In the loss to Nederland, the Mustangs moved the ball well at times, only to get bogged down by turnovers or penalties.

Quarterback Tyrone Wilson passed for 79 yards and gained 57 on the ground as the Mustangs were without the services of standout tailback Kavyn Cooper last week while back Justin Sibley had 40 yards on eight carries.

The Mustangs certainly held their own defensively as the Bulldogs only gained 134 yards on 38 carries and completed just 4-of-12 passes. Two of the WO-S scores came on a 81-yard interception return by Ja’Vonn Ross and a 33-yard fumble return by Teshaun Teel.

It does not get any easier for the Bears and the Mustangs as they will continue non-district action next week.

The Battlin’ Bears will make a trek to Jasper while the Mustangs will return home to face the No. 1 team in the state in Class 3A in the forms of the defending Class 3A Division II state champion Newton Eagles.