The Pike County Bulldogs, ranked ninth in 3A,

fought

Class 1A No. 1 Courtland down to the wire on Friday night, but couldn’t pull out a win, falling to the Chiefs 19-15 in the fourth quarter.

Courtland’s Cedric Hampton hauled in three touchdown passes against the Bulldogs, including a 15-yarder from the Chiefs’ Percy Harris in the third period to break a 12-12 halftime tie.

Jeremy Lampley added a 31-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs couldn’t overcome the Chiefs’ lead in the final seconds of the game.

Hampton caught his first touchdown of the game from Chiefs’ quarterback Reprobatus Bibbs, but PCH countered with a 25-yard pass from quarterback Marquez Foster to tailback Tyrone Boyd to knot the score at 6-6.

Back came Hampton and the Chiefs with and this time the receiver caught his second touchdown of the night from Reginald Jones.

Undaunted, Pike County came back. Foster hooked up with Boyd again, this time for a 60-yard touchdown run and catch. The two-point conversion attempt was no good.

Offensively, the Bulldogs outgained the Chiefs 258-209, but the PCH offense had four fumbles. Foster was 4-of-13 for 119 yards and one interception. The Bulldogs rushed for 139 yards and held the Chiefs to just 91 yards on the ground.

Pike County (4-2) heads back into regional play next week at Calhoun (0-6).

Courtland will host rival Hazlewood.