Helaman 1:29

And thus he did; and he did head them, before they came to the land Bountiful, and gave unto them battle, insomuch that they began to retreat back towards the land of Zarahemla.

He did this. He got ahead of them before they came to Bountiful. He fought them. They began to go back toward Zarahemla.

Lehi did exactly that. He intercepted them before they reached Bountiful and hit them hard enough that they started retreating back toward Zarahemla.