By the time the Southside offense touched the ball Friday night, Pike County was already up 14-0 and had possessed the ball three times.

The start of the game set the tone for the night as Pike (3-1) rode the momentum to a 49-6 victory over Southside (3-1) in a key class 3A, region 3 contest. The win puts Pike atop the region standings and in prime position as the season nears its halfway mark.

“I was very proud of our guys for working hard and not only that but to be on top of the region after leaving tonight, that was something that was very important and our guys worked very hard for,” said Pike County coach Fred Holland.

Pike quarterback Jaidyn Wilson accounted for five touchdowns, including a 49-yard touchdown pass to Juhmir Lampley on the Bulldogs first drive of the game. Pike then managed to recover an onside kick, but went three and out and was forced to punt.

Even then, the Bulldogs ended up with the ball, as Southside’s DeQuan Johnson fumbled the punt return and Pike recovered at the Panthers 5-yard line.

On the ensuing drive, Wilson dove into the end zone on a 1-yard quarterback sneak to make the score 14-0 with 5:34 left in the first quarter.

“We dug a hole so deep and it’s hard to dig out of a hole against a team that can play like Pike County,” said Southside coach Daniel Flowers.

Wilson accounted for his third and fourth touchdowns of the game in the second quarter. He scored on a quarterback sneak to put Pike up 21-0 and then connected with Lampley for a 24-yard touchdown pass.

At that point, it was 28-0 Pike with 4:00 left in the first half.

Southside answered with its best drive of the night. The Panthers drove the ball 63 yards on six plays. Southside quarterback G’Neil Johnson threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to DeQuan Johnson, who leaped over a Bulldogs defender to bring down the ball. The extra point attempt failed.

Even with some momentum going into the break, Southside couldn’t get back into the game.

In the third quarter, Wilson threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Lampley to put Pike ahead 34-6. Lampley would add another touchdown, his fifth and final of the night, on a 2-yard touchdown rush to extend the lead to 40-6 with 3:03 left in the third quarter. Pike added a two-point conversion on a pass from Wilson to Lampley, making it 42-6.

Southside threatened with two drives inside the Pike 30-yard-line late in the game, but the Bulldogs ended both of them with interceptions. Anthony Glover Jr. intercepted G’Neil Johnson with 2:48 left and ran it back 80 yards for a touchdown to put the score at 49-6.

Pike will play its third road contest in a row next week at Abbeville. .