The Leroy defense brings down a Wildcat runner. (Photo by Bruce Hansen) The Leroy Bears picked up a key 2A Region 1 win with a 35- 19 victory over the Millry Wildcats Friday, Sept. 5 at Palmer Stadium. Leroy jumped in front 21-0 at the half behind three Clint Moseley touchdowns, but had to hold on as the Wildcats stormed back in the second half against an injurydepleted Bear defense.

"We were pleased to get out of there with a win," Leroy coach Danny Powell said. "We had several players that didn't dress and several more that went down during the game. Millry has a good football team. Anytime you can get a win with several starters out, it is nice."

Leroy struck first when Moseley found Phillip Ervin for a 44-yard touchdown with 10:37 to go in the opening stanza. Ervin nailed the PAT to put the Bears up 7-0. With 4:37 remaining in the first quarter, Moseley hit pay dirt again when he found Stephen Scoggins for a 5-yard touchdown pass that capped off a 7-play, 72-yard drive. Ervin's PAT made the score 14-0 in favor of the home team. Scoggins hauled in three catches for 74 yards and a TD.

The Bears reached the end zone one more time before intermission when Moseley hooked up with Ervin again for a 14-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 21-0 at the half. Ervin had 92 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions before leaving the game with a injury.

Millry received the ball to start the second half but the Leroy defense stood tall forcing a Wildcat punt. That ended up being bad news for the Bears as the return team muffed the punt giving the ball back to MHS with good field position. Millry quarterback Dylan Whitsett made the Bears pay when he hit Nigel Jones for a 23-yard touchdown to close the gap to 21-7.

Moseley took over with his feet on the Bears' next possession, capping the drive off with a 21- yard TD run to put Leroy on top 28-7 with 7:28 left in the third. After a stop by the Leroy defense, Moseley found the end zone again with a 4-yard touchdown scamper to blow the game open 35-7.

Moseley ended the game with 128 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 16 carries while completing 12-20 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns. He has accounted for 83 percent (657) of Leroy's 786 yards on offense through the first two games of the season.

Millry added two late touchdowns with Whitsett hitting Kendrick Gray for 22 yards and Cody Odom for 18 yards to close out the scoring. Whitsett finished the night 20-36 for 198 yards and three touchdowns.

Leroy travels to Washington County Friday night at 7 in another region game.

"Chatom had a big region win (SCHS) this weekend too. Their quarterback (Caleb Beech) had a good game. It looked like their offensive line did a much better job than they did against Jackson, Powell said.