MERRYVILLE – It started out with a bang for Merryville.

And that seemed to awaken the Gueydan Bears from their slumber.

Gueydan (2-5, 1-3) scored five of the next six touchdowns in the contest, racing to a 49-26 victory over the Panthers (1-6, 1-3) on Thursday night at Keener-Cagle Stadium.

Merryville took the initial lead of the contest on a game-opening 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown thanks to Cam'Ron Williams to push the Panthers into an early advantage.

But the Bears fought back, scoring 22 straight points as they built a 16-point lead before Merryville's Dakota Thompson raced 26 yards for a TD, cutting the gap to 22-12.

Gueydan added two more touchdowns to the board before Merryville got a 38-yard punt return for a TD from Brycen Coody and a 29-yard TD pass from Remington Coody to Kaleb Lewis. At the break, Merryville trailed the Bears, 36-26.

The Panthers were unable to find paydirt again, but Gueydan added two touchdowns to pad its lead and gain the subsequent victory.

Thompson and Williams each ran for over 100 yards. Thompson had a touchdown and 124 yards gained, while Williams added 118 yards rushing and the kickoff return.

Remington Coody completed 2-of-5 passes for 53 yards, both to Kaleb Lewis, one for a touchdown.

This article originally appeared on Leesville Daily Leader: Merryville falls to Gueydan, 49-26