Gladewater’s D.J. Allen for the Zone cover shoot Wednesday, July 14, 2021. (Les Hassell/News-Journal Photo)

GLADEWATER — Despite both teams coming into the matchup with nearly identical records, Gladewater reigned supreme against visiting Sabine on Friday night, besting the Cardinals, 35-6, and extending its win streak to six in a row.

The Bears (7-2, 6-0) showed what complementary football is all about, forcing back-to-back punts on the Cardinals (6-3, 4-1) that were downed at the 1-yard line. In both instances the Bears marched down the field for touchdowns — one on a pass from senior quarterback DJ Allen to receiver Kolin Lewis who went 84 yards to the house for the first score of the game. The Bears capped off the second 99-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown run from senior running back Za Campbell, the first of his two touchdowns on the night.

The Bears did most of their damage on the ground, taking the fight to the trenches where the Bears offensive line outsized the Cardinals defensive line across the board in hopes of wearing the Sabine defense into submission, which they did.

However, the Cardinals weren’t going down without a fight. After being down two touchdowns, Sabine senior quarterback Jace Burns began to take the game over with his arm and legs, putting his offense in scoring position at the 4-yard line. The visiting Cardinal sideline went from celebration to sadness in a matter of seconds when the Cardinals decided to go for it on fourth down from the 4-yard line. Burnes threw a fade route to the left corner where it was intercepted by senior defensive back Tyrone Maddox, who went 105 yards the other way to go up three touchdowns.

Midway through the second quarter, the Bears were no longer going up against the Cardinals, but instead, beating themselves with constant penalties including multiple personal fouls, giving Sabine a glimmer of hope, giving up a touchdown right before the half to make the halftime lead 21-6.

The Bears ran down the Cardinals in the second half and controlled the clock for most of the game following the break. Junior fullback G’Braylon Polly slammed in a touchdown from the 1-yard line late in the game to put the nail in the coffin and send the Bears on their way to another victory.