The Batesville Pioneers lost against the Southside Southerners back in October of 2022, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. Batesville was beaten by Southside 42-10. Batesville was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 28-0.
Cole Bentz threw for 57 yards and a touchdown. Conner Foree was his top target, picking up 37 receiving yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Owen Mclaughlin rushed for 79 yards.
Gabe Witt had a dynamite game for Southside, rushing for 160 yards and four touchdowns on only 13 carries, while also throwing for 12 yards and a touchdown while completing 100% of his passes. Witt was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 63 yards.
This is the second loss in a row for Batesville and nudges their season record down to 3-6. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 11.5 points per game. As for Southside, their victory was their sixth straight on the road (dating back to last season), which bumped their overall record up to 8-1.
Batesville will square off against Valley View at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Valley View has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 294 points over their last seven contests. As for Southside, they will look to defend their home field on Friday against Paragould at 7:00 p.m. Paragould will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Arkansas Rankings (they are ranked 120th, while Southside is ranked 21st).
