By Brandon Sumrall | Special to the Advertiser

A 41-7 win over the Thorsby Rebels on Friday night keeps playoff hopes alive for the Billingsley Bears, as the regular season winds down and the race for a playoff berth picks up.

Both teams found it hard to move the ball offensively to start the game, but the Bears eventually found success with the ground game late in the first quarter.

A pair of long runs by Billingsley (4-3 Overall; 3-2 Region) running back James Woods propelled the Bears down the field and quarterback Larry Starks hit Carlton McCary on an 18-yard touchdown pass as Billingsley took a 7-0 lead.

Each team exchanged a pair or three-and-out drives before Billingsley again found the end zone, this time on a 72-yard run by Woods that extended the Bears’ lead to 13-0.

Unable to get anything going on offense, another three-and-out by the Rebels turned the ball back over to Billingsley at their own 45.

One play later and Starks scrambled from one side of the field to the other and in to the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown to give Billingsley a 21-0 lead at the half.

Billingsley found pay dirt again with its second possession of the second half as, Starks capped off a 57-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown run to make the score 28-0 early in the third quarter

Thorsby (1-7; 1-4) used its ensuing possession to take away the shut out as Christin Brown put the Rebels on the board with a 3-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 28-7.

Billingsley answered the Rebel touchdown with another of their own as Starks added another Bears touchdown, this time through the air on a 40-yard touchdown pass to Carlton McCary to make the score 35-7.

One more Bears touchdown early in the forth quarter on a 17-yard touchdown run by Starks brought the score to its final of 41-7 and gave Billingsley a much needed regional win.

The duo of Starks and Wood combined for more than 300 yards on the ground for the Bears, as Starks put up 151 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries and Woods added 160 yards and a score on 18 carries.

“The both play well for us and they play hard,” Billingsley head coach Tyson McLean said. “They came up with some big plays for us tonight. We had way to many penalties that we have to clean up and get ready to play next week.”

Brown led the Rebels’ rushing game with 78 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries.