Peachtree Ridge Cages Bears, 28-17

Updated 5:17 a.m., Sept. 24, 2011

The Mountain View Bears entered the Lions Den in Suwanee on Friday night with winning on their minds. Fresh off an upset win over Mill Creek last week, the Bears looked to extend their claws again.

But the did not share the same outlook. The Lions pulled away from the Bears in the second half en route to a 28-17 victory.

Peachtree Ridge used a balanced attack that featured six different receivers and five different rushers. Billy Best was 13-of-19 passing for 133 yards and a touchdown. Joe Horn led the receiving group with four receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown. The ground attack was led by Walden Davis and Raham Dixon. Davis had 14 carries for 59 yards and Dixon had 10 carriers for 103 yards and a touchdown.

The Lions' defense was pushed back on the Bears' first two drives of the game, yielding 90 yards. But the defense stiffened after that, holding the Bears to just 87 yards for the remainder of the game.

The Lions finished with 372 total yards of offense while limiting the Bears to 177. The victory pushed the Lions to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 in region play.

The Bears started the game using a precision-oriented offense that used all of the field left, right and center. Their patience would pay off as the Bears scored first with a 32-yard field goal at the 3:50 mark of the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead. Meanwhile, the Lions would go three-and-out on their first two possessions.

But Lions would roar back in the second quarter. Best found Horn for a 7-yard strike with 7:37 left on the clock and then Diandre Atwater scored three minutes later on a 2-yard run to put the Lions ahead 14-3. On the ensuing kickoff Marvin Elam of the Bears went 98 yards for six points and the score was 14-9.

Ahmaad Harris took the opening kickoff of the second half and raced 99 yards for a score to push the Lion lead to 11 points. Then with 1:51 left in the quarter, a Mountain View snap to the punter was high and into the end zone, resulting in a 2-point safety.

Best left the game with cramps in the third quarter, so Bryson Sellers picked up the quarterback duties. Sellers immediately led the Lions on a touchdown march that ended with a 19-yard score by Dixon.

Chris Bartlett scored on a naked bootleg with 5:06 left in the game for the Bears. After a successful 2-point conversion the Lions' lead was cut to 28-17. The Lions then ran out the clock to close out the game.

After the game Peachtree Ridge coach Mark Fleetwood commented on the play of his defense: “They gave up most of the yards on the first two drives of the game. After that they settled in and played good ball. Hats off to Mountain View and their coaching staff. They do a good job. ”

On looking ahead to a tough region schedule in the coming weeks, Fleetwood commented, “This is what it's all about. We have a good summer program of preparation and the kids are ready to get after it.”

Peachtree Ridge has a bye next week and resumes play on Oct. 7 against Suwanee rival Collins Hill.