Pearl River Central’s Blue Devils came ready to play when the Long Beach Bearcats traveled into town for an important district game.

Both sides of the ball were clicking for the Blue Devils as they played their way to a 28-14 victory.

The offense dominated the line of scrimmage, and held possession for the majority of the game.

At first the Bearcats were able to withstand the long drives, but as the game went on the players began showing obvious signs of fatigue.

On the first drive of the game for the Blue Devils, the offense used up half of the first quarter pounding the ball on the ground.

The 10-play drive was capped off by a 4-yard touchdown run by running back Detrich Spikes.

Samuel Lambert came on for the PAT, and the kick sailed through the uprights to give the Blue Devils a 7-0 lead with just over six minutes left in the first quarter.

PRC’s defense was stingy all game, and the unit was led by linebackers Clay Spiers and Branson Logan, alongside defensive end Kevin Wilcox.

After the initial touchdown neither offense was able to find rhythm moving the ball, so the first quarter ended 7-0.

However, Long Beach struck early in the second quarter with a 68-yard touchdown pass from quarterback D’Lijah Robinson to wide receiver Jervey Foxworth.

Kicker Mauricio Sandoval’s extra point was good, and the game was all tied up with 9:45 left in the second quarter.

The teams traded possessions with the clock winding down when the Blue Devils found themselves in the red zone after multiple big plays and a fourth down conversion.

Quarterback Cameron Brunson dropped back, and found running back Ty Herring open down the seam for a 16-yard touchdown pass.

Lambert’s kick was good, and the Blue Devils took a 14-7 lead into halftime.

Long Beach started the third quarter of play with a bang, and the Bearcats quickly moved the ball downfield before Robinson took a quarterback keeper into the end zone for the Bearcats.

The extra point was good, and the game was once again tied with 11:02 still left to play in the third quarter.

PRC’s next offensive possession burned 10 minutes off the clock, and covered 80 yards down the field.

Spikes once again found the end zone for the Blue Devils as he took a handoff, and made a defender miss the tackle before galloping 27 yards for a touchdown.

The PAT was blocked by the Bearcats, so the lead was only at six putting the score at 20-14.

The Blue Devils defense forced a quick three and out from the Bearcats, and the offense got the ball back with intentions of killing the game.

PRC did just that.

An 11-play drive, which took the clock down inside six minutes was capped off by a short touchdown run from Dalton Lee who lined up as a fullback on the play.

With Spikes pushing him from behind, Lee fought his way into the end zone.

Head Coach Jacob Owen decided to go for a two-point conversion to increase the lead to 14 points.

The offensive line got a good push, and running back Ty Herring took the ball in to give the Blue Devils a 28-14 lead.

When Long Beach got the ball back, the Bearcats were pinned deep at the team’s 20-yard line after a touchback.

They needed to score in a hurry, and there were some nervous moments as they drove down the field.

The Bearcats were at the Blue Devils’ 28-yard line when Robinson dropped back to pass, lofted the ball towards a receiver, but was intercepted by Brunson who read the play and returned the ball to the PRC 37-yard line.

With only two minutes left to play, the Blue Devils burned the clock to seal the win.

After the game Owen said the players and staff would enjoy the victory.

“It’s a win. We’re going to celebrate and be happy, and smile ear to ear until Sunday when we start watching film on Hattiesburg,” Owen said.

The Blue Devils’ next opponent will be the Hattiesburg Tigers.

The game is set to take place on Oct. 18, and will kick off at 7 p.m.