The excitement and good vibes that came from the 2024 Homecoming Ceremonies all week were capped off with one more positive Saturday night as the Bears grabbed an early lead and never gave it up, picking up a 34-20 win over the visiting Hinds Eagles marking the first win of the season for the Bears.
 
"I'm just happy to get a win, wins are hard to come by," Southwest head coach Cliff Collins said. "We have a great football team. We went out and put up 34 points in the first half. Things were clicking."
 
After the defense of the Bears (1-6, 1-3 MACCC South), made an early stop on Hinds' first two drives, the Southwest offense followed suit on its second possession. A five-play, 58-yard drive wrapped with a 21-yard rushing touchdown by Chris Hunter who had three carries for 41 yards on the drive. After the game, Hunter gave high praise for his linemen.
 
"Really, up front, the offensive line, big shout out to them," said Hunter who finished with 23 carries for 121 yards and a score. "The offensive line helped me out a lot, they got to the second level and blocked the linebackers, and they opened the gaps up for me."  
 
On the ensuing drive, the defense stepped up again. Vinay Singh kicked off his huge night grabbing the first of three interceptions in the contest. The change in possession also shifted the momentum back to the home side as the Bears drove down the field before getting three points on a 23-yard field goal by Lyndell Boatman making it a 10-0 lead.
 
The momentum didn't last for long, however, as the Eagles got on the board on the ensuing drive on a 68-yard touchdown pass cutting the Bear lead down to three.
 
Not letting the Hinds score affect him and his offense one bit, quarterback Quez Goss led the Bear attack down the field once again on a 10-play, 53-yard drive which culminated with a Goss 1-yard touchdown run pushing the Bear lead back to 10 at 17-7.
 
Later in the quarter, another drive for Southwest ended with positive results as Goss found Marcellus Jackson in the end zone from two yards out on a 4^th and goal increasing the lead to 24-7.
 
Another big defensive stop on the ensuing drive came on a takeaway as a Jaylon Price sack resulted in a fumble which was pounced on by fellow defensive lineman Steve Mboumoua giving the Bears the ball at the Eagle 34-yard line. Southwest unfortunately couldn't put the ball in the end zone but Boatman connected on another field goal, this time from 31 yards out as the Bears grew their lead to 27-7.
 
The ensuing kickoff was returned 97-yards for a Hinds touchdown cutting into the Bear lead but Southwest got one last laugh in the first half as Goss connected with TJ Johnson on a 34-yard touchdown pass making the score 34-14 with just under :30 to go. The offensive possession came after Singh snagged his second interception giving the Bears ideal field position.
 
Leading by 20 in the third quarter, a couple of chances to add to the lead fell short for the Bears as a kick return by Jackson and a Gary Bailey Jr. interception return, both for scores, were called back to due to blocking penalties. The Bears were unable to capitalize on either of the ensuing drives.
 
In the fourth, the Eagles inched a bit closer following a 63-yard touchdown pass making the score 34-20. Hinds tried to move even closer on its next offensive possession but once again, Singh shined with his third interception on the night. After the game, he spoke about making the change from linebacker to safety a recently and how it has paid off.
 
"The coach put me in the right position to make those plays," Singh said. "They put me at safety two weeks ago because they felt that I can make the plays to help the team. I capitalized on a lot of those passes. I have to thank my cornerbacks and my linebackers and my d-line for putting pressure on the quarterback."
 
The third and final Singh interception came with 1:07 to go and helped seal the win as the Bears went into victory formation to run the remaining time off of the clock.
 
After the game, Goss said that he was proud of the way that his team came together in the days leading up to the game against the Eagles.
 
"I feel like we settled in as a team and did some team-bonding," said Goss who completed 23-of-36 passes for 238 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. After the game he said the win could be a turning point in the season for the Bears who have two games remaining on the schedule. "I feel like it is time for us to play now, this is a new half of the season. We got the win, and we need to get two more, we need to finish 3-3," he said.
 
As far as pass catchers, the Bears were led by Damarrco Blanton who hauled in eight balls for 59 yards. Jackson caught five for 68 yards and a score while Johnson had three catches for 79 yards and a touchdown.
 
Defensively, Tory Morgan led the charge with eight tackles including three tackles for loss for 16 yards, two of which were sacks for a total of 15 yards. Danarius Hilliard had seven tackles including one for loss and one fumble forced. In addition to his three interceptions, Singh also had five tackles.

The Bears will travel to Ellisville on Thursday to face Jones at 7 p.m. in their final road test of the season.