JONESVILLE, La. — What was supposed to have been an easy win for No. 2 seed Block over a Delhi team that somehow made the Class 1A Playoffs despite a losing record turned out to be just the opposite.

But it wasn’t because of anything that Delhi did. Block was at times its own worst enemy because of turnovers and untimely penalties.

But, luckily, Block has a pair of stout running backs in Preston Bowman and Vashawn Davis, as well as quarterback Antoine Bowie. The backfield trio combined for 352 yards rushing and all four touchdowns as the host Bears held on for a 29-26 win over the visiting and No. 31 seed Bears in a bi-district round game Friday night at H.G. Taliaferro Memorial Stadium.

“I thought we were going to rattle. Then we started having a lot of penalties. At the end of the first half, we had three straight 15-yard penalties,” Block head coach Benny Vault Jr. said. “We put the ball on the ground too many times. You can’t do that in the playoffs.”

Bowie scored on touchdown runs of 7 and 3 yards in the early minutes of the first quarter to give Block, the District 3-1A runner-up, a 14-0 lead at the 7:53 mark.

But Delhi, which entered the playoffs with a 4-5 overall record and finished fifth in District 2-1A, cut into the lead when No. 5 (no name given) got past Block’s defense on his way to a 70-yard touchdown run with 7:38 to go in the opening quarter. However, the extra point was no good and Block led 14-6.

Bowie ended up with 181 yards on 21 carries to lead Block’s punishing ground game.

It appeared that the host Bears were on their way to putting the game out of reach when Davis scored on a 13-yard run and Travis Barber made his third straight extra point for a 21-6 lead with 8:36 remaining in the second quarter.

Block was marching down the field, but on two occasions touchdowns were called back on that drive because of penalties, and the Bears were forced to punt instead of taking what would have been a commanding 28-6 lead.

“We stopped ourselves. We had penalties at the wrong time,” Vault said. “They didn’t stop anything as far as the running game (was concerned). We executed on offense. They kept playing hard. They didn’t let the penalties affect them.”

The visiting Bears took advantage of Block’s miscues when Delhi scored on a 6-yard run and caught a 2-point conversion pass with 6:40 to go in the second quarter to make it a 21-14 game.

Then with just five seconds left until halftime, Delhi scored on a 1-yard run, but another missed extra point left Delhi trailing Block 21-20.

After a scoreless third quarter, Block scored again on a 16-yard run by Bowman, who also ran in the two-point conversion run to give the host Bears at 29-20 lead. Bowman finished with 128 yards rushing on 13 carries.

But Delhi wouldn’t go away quietly, scoring on a 2-yard touchdown pass with 5:46 to go in the ball game. However, the attempted two-point conversion pass fell incomplete.

Delhi had one last chance to pull off a major upset, but Block’s defense made sure that would not happen.

“It came down to the wire. We had a stand. They stepped up when they had to,” Vault said.

Block (9-2) will play host to No. 15 seed White Castle in the regional round. White Castle defeated No. 18 seed West St. John 12-0.

River Oaks 21,

Centreville 13

MONROE, La. — Teshadi Talton scored the go-ahead touchdown for River Oaks in the third quarter and had a key score late in the ball game to secure River Oaks’ win over Centreville Academy Friday night in the semifinal round of the MAIS Class AA South State Playoffs.

Tyler Towles scored on a 1-yard run and Cliff Hurst added the extra point to give Centreville (8-5) an early 7-0 lead. Alex Biedenharn scored on a 3-yard run and Brogan Brasseaux’s extra point tied the game at 7-7 later on in the quarter.

Neither team was able to put up any points on the scoreboard in the second quarter, but Talton’s 40-yard touchdown run helped give the District 6-AA champion and second-ranked Mustangs a 14-7 lead midway through the third quarter.

Hurst, who had 83 yards rushing on 21 carries, scored on a 2-yard run with 8:22 to go in the fourth quarter, but the 2-point conversion was no good, leaving District 5-AA champion Centreville trailing 14-13.

However, Talton sealed River Oaks’ berth in the Class AA South State Championship game with his 14-yard run with 2:45 left in the ball game. He finished with 190 yards rushing on 18 carries.

The Mustangs can thank their running game for the win as they racked up 314 yards on what had been an improved Centreville defense from what it was early in the season.

The Tigers forced four turnovers, but their offense managed just 179 yards of total offense.

River Oaks (11-1) hits the road to take on top-ranked and defending South State and State champion Brookhaven Academy next Friday.