ALEXANDRIA, La. — Even though the Bolton Bears went into their District 3-3A finale against Vidalia with a 3-1 record in district play, they had to defeat the Vikings to clinch a playoff spot.

That’s because of the power ratings system used in Louisiana public school football. Both Bolton and Vidalia had identical 4-5 overall records heading into Friday night’s game, yet the Vikings had a 1-3 district record. Yet Bolton was only one spot ahead of Vidalia in the latest Class 2A power ratings at No. 30.

Bolton saw a 20-6 lead disappear in the fourth quarter only to escape with a 27-26 win over Vidalia in overtime to not only assure the Bears a berth in the Class 2A playoffs, but to also eliminate the Vikings from postseason play.

“We had our chances, but we gave up big plays,” Vidalia head coach Dee Faircloth said. “We fought hard and I’m proud of these boys.”

Jeremy Randall touched the ball 25 times and finished with 133 yards of total offense – 103 on the ground with two touchdowns on 23 carries to go with two catches for 30 yards for Vidalia (4-6, 1-4).

Trey Barnes and Kevin Johnson combined to complete four of five passes for 57 yards. Each threw a touchdown and Barnes threw one interception. Johnson also had 10 carries for 95 yards and one touchdown.

Jarvis Jackson led Bolton (5-5, 3-1) with 17 carries for 107 yards and one touchdown and Zeke Johnson had 11 carries for 57 yards.

Block 41, Lakeview 24

JONESVILLE, La. — Led by Hunter Key’s 228 rushing yards and two touchdowns, the Bears rallied from an 18-6 deficit to defeat the Gators Thursday night to finish the regular season with four wins in their last five games heading into the Class 1A playoffs.

The way that Lakeview was running the football, especially in the first half, it appeared that the Gators were well on their way to victory. Akeem Isaac and Kevin Berly, who combined for 320 yards on 40 carries, scored all three of their touchdowns that would give them the 12-point lead with 2:30 remaining in the second quarter.

John Bloodsaw led Block’s comeback with an 8-yard touchdown run with 1:42 to go until halftime and the Bears trailed 18-13 at the break. Key then broke Lakeview’s backs when he returned the opening kickoff of the second half 81 yards for a touchdown and his two-point conversion run gave Block (4-6) a 21-13 lead.

Curdarius Johnson, who ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns, scored on a 5-yard run just past the midway point of the third quarter for a 28-13 lead.

The Bears scored 34 straight points before Lakeview scored with under a minute to go on Berly’s 42-yard run, his third touchdown of the game.