NATCHEZ — In the highest scoring game recorded by a Miss-Lou football team this season, Wilkinson County fell 70-54 to North Pike Friday night.

Wildcats quarterback Desmond Hunter continued his early season trend of putting up video-game numbers, posting 478 passing yards, five passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown.

“He’s still doing what he has been, and it’s that simple,” Wilkinson County head coach Kenneth Brown said. “I’ll put it to you like this — if you want to see a lot of points scored, this was an exciting game. But when the football game looks like no defense is being played, it’s hard to imagine. They didn’t stop us, but we didn’t stop them either.”

Both teams traded scores back-and-forth throughout the contest, going into halftime with a 35-34 North Pike lead. Wilkinson County regained the lead and took a 46-41 lead into the fourth quarter. But North Pike went on to outscore Wilkinson County 27-8 in the final quarter.

“We didn’t make stops when we needed to,” Brown said. “If you make a key stop here or there in the fourth quarter, we would have won the game, but we didn’t.”

Phillip Thompson led the way on the ground for the Wildcats, rushing for 124 yards and a touchdown. Robert Swint rushed three times for 47 yards and a score.

Travion Jones continued his streak of explosive plays on a game-by-game basis, recording six catches for 155 yards and a touchdown for the Wildcats. Wilkinson County’s Swint recorded seven catches for 143 yards and three touchdown receptions, while Juan Anthony made eight receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown.

But despite all of the gaudy offensive statistics, Brown was displeased with the defensive performance, frustrated at the game’s conclusion.

“We just have to tackle better and cover better,” Brown said. “It’s almost like we’re afraid of contact out there. It’s just unbelievable.”

Wilkinson County (2-2) travels to Scotlandville next week.