After a bye week and two forfeit wins, the Southeastern Louisiana Steel Sharks collected a 16-12 victory over the Louisiana West Bank Warriors Saturday at William Pitcher Junior High.

Moses Kitchen intercepted two passes and returned one for a touchdown.

The Steel Sharks, a semi-pro football team based in Slidell, is 9-0 heading into the final week of the regular season, while the Warriors are 5-4.

Steel Sharks’ running back Kendrick Perry runs in the open field, while trying to break a tackle during Saturday’s game against the West Bank Warriors at William Pitcher Junior High School. (Photo Courtesy of Steel Sharks)

The Baton Rouge River Bandits are second in the league at 7-1.

Kitchen’s first interception came just three minutes into the first quarter. He returned it to the Warriors’ 15, but the offense turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert a fourth-and-one.

Then he picked off another pass, this one he took the distance. Running back Kendrick Perry ran in the two-point conversion to make it 8-0.

The score stood that way until the Warriors tallied at about the four-minute mark of the first half. The two-pointer failed and Southeastern Louisiana had an 8-6-halftime lead.

In the third quarter, the score was still 8-6 when the Steel Sharks essentially put the game away.

Perry lined up at quarterback and ran the option to the right. He made one move and cut back across the field.

Thirty-three yards later, he was in the end zone with the touchdown. Chris Abron added the important two-point conversion, giving the Steel Sharks a 16-6 advantage.

The Warriors posted the game’s final tally with 2:56 left in the fourth quarter. The two-pointer was no good.

Steel Sharks’ coach Ashton McGee said the defense played great.

“As much as the offense struggled, it was great to see just how dominate our defense truly is,” McGee said. “For me it hard to believe that a team can come out and take us out of our game because we practice against the best defense in the league every Tuesday and Thursday. Time off is no excuse for not executing, securing the ball and finishing drives where we get inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.”

The final regular season game takes place tomorrow in Orange, Texas against the Tigers. Southeastern Louisiana won the last meeting 28-6.

A Steel Sharks’ victory would give them the top seed in the playoffs, home-field advantage and a bye in the first round.