MONROE, La. — The Block High School Bears knew they were in for a tough game when they took to the field to take on the Ouachita Christian School Eagles, ranked No. 5 in the LSWA preseason Class 2A poll.

The first half alone proved as much as Ouachita Christian scored 26 points in the first half and rolled to a 33-13 win over Block in the season-opener for both teams.

However, Block assistant coach Bo Sproles had a different perspective on the game, saying if the game had been played in Jonesville, the Bears would have came out victorious.

“A lot of good things happened tonight. Our defense kept us in there close. Most of our defense played well,” Sproles said. “Our quarterback, Zorian Bowie, threw the ball around some. He completed four big passes for 180 yards.”

And two of those long passes resulted in touchdowns – a 77-yarder to Jacob Duncan in the first quarter and a 45-yarder to A.J. Barber late in the fourth quarter. But despite getting some big plays in the passing game, Block just could not put up enough points on the scoreboard to pull off the upset.

“We had first and goal at the 5-yard line and turned it over,” Sproles said. “OCS is a very good team and is well-coached.”

Jayden Ivey also had a good offensive performance for the Bears with 33 yards rushing on four carries to go with two catches for 31 yards. Bowie did throw one interception, but he also had 30 yards on the ground.

Sproles mentioned several players who had a lot of tackles – Ivey, Walter “Fat Fat” Barber Jr., K.J. Jones, Jacoby Norl, A.J. Barber, Michael Barber, Davontae Curry and Brady Bean.

Block (0-1) plays host to Ferriday High School next Friday with a 7 p.m. kickoff.