AMITE – There was standing room only and not too much of that as old playoff rivals reunited last Friday Night in the Class 3A Quarter-Finals as the undefeated Amite Warriors hosted Lutcher.

Once the Warriors got into the post season undefeated they new that there first loss of the year would be their only loss and that’s exactly what took place as the Bulldogs held on for a 30-22 win over Amite.

Coach Alden Foster’s Warriors storybook season came to an end with an 11-1 record while the Bulldogs advanced to this weeks state semi-finals as they return home to play host to Cecilia with a trip to the dome on the line for both Bulldogs Teams.

The Warriors fell behind 8-0 when Lutcher’s Gavin Webster scored on a two-yard run and then ran in for the two-point conversion in the first quarter. But Amite responded when Jermil Perkins reeled off a 46-yard run to give the Warriors the football at the Lutcher five-yard line.

Senior Quarterback Brandon Mitchell then scored on a five yard run to cut the lead to 8-6. Amite elected to go for two and converted when Mitchell hit Henderson in the left corner of the end zone and the game was tied at 8-8.

The Bulldogs then reclaimed the lead in the second quarter when Webster scored on a four-yard run to give Lutcher a 14-6 lead. Amite then again jumped off sides on the PAT try and Lutcher went for two again and converted on the Tim Tebow jump pass and the Bulldogs led 16-8.

The first half then ended with a lot of drama unfolding. Lutcher ran two plays with no time left in the first half as Amite was flagged for pass interference twice late in the half. On the second play ran with no time left on the clock Lutcher’s receiver hauled in the ball but was ruled out of bounds and Amite dodged a bullet trailing by one score at halftime.

Lutcher came out and padded their lead in the fourth quarter to claim a 23-8 lead over Amite. But the Warriors quickly responded when Mitchell dumped a pass off to Damien Bazley and he then turned the short pass reception into a 27-yard scoring play. Amite had a chance to cut the lead to eight points but the PAT was wide to the right and Lutcher led by nine 23-14 in the fourth quarter.

Down but not out Amite needed a defensive stop but the Bulldogs would score again and put Amite in a 30-14 hole late in the game. But the Warriors would not quit as they got the ball back and got right back into the game when Brandon Mitchell ran the ball 68-yards down to the Lutcher 12-yard line.

Mitchell then tossed a 12-yard touchdown strike help cut the lead to 30-20. Mitchell then ran in for the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 30-22 with less than two minutes left in the game.

Amite was then out of timeouts and was forced to go for an onsides kick. The Bulldogs recovered and ran out the clock to win the game 30-22. Amite’s quest for the program’s fifth state title came to an end with an 11-1 record.