The Priceville Bulldogs opened Class 4A, Region 7 play with a resounding 42-29 victory on the road at St. John Paul II Catholic School Friday night. 

The win gave head coach Chris Foster his first career victory.

The Falcons took the opening kickoff and quickly drove the field in six plays to score on a six-yard touchdown pass. The touchdown was set up with a 50-yard pass on the opening play of the drive.

The Bulldogs didn’t take long to answer with a three-play scoring drive of their own. Jerry Burton carried the ball three times for 65 yards, including a four-yard touchdown run, to tie the game at 7-7.

Following a Falcon three-and-out, the Bulldogs went back to work with a punishing ground attack led by a large offensive line: All five starters on the unit weigh in at more than 250 pounds. 

Priceville used an eight-play drive to take a 14-7 lead. The highlight of the drive was a 32-yard touchdown run by Jaxon Cross.

The Bulldogs forced a Falcon interception but couldn’t get anything going on their third offensive possession and were forced to punt the ball back to JPII. 

The Falcons used a six-play drive to tie the game at 14-14 two plays into the second quarter.

Priceville’s next possession was a 75-yard, eight-play scoring drive that gave the Bulldogs a 21-14 lead. Cross had a 22-yard reception to go along with his 27-yard touchdown run, his second of the game.

The Falcons scored right before halftime to tie the game at 21-all.

The Bulldogs came out of the locker room and started to distance themselves from the Falcons behind Burton, who scored two third-quarter touchdowns to give Priceville a 35-21 lead.

JPII cut into the lead following a Brown-to-Angelo Hunter 10-yard touchdown pass and two-point conversion to make the score 35-29.

The Bulldogs shut the door on the Falcon comeback with a 49-yard, four-play scoring drive highlighted by a Cross 24-yard run to open the drive and a Burton nine-yard touchdown run – his fourth of the game.

“I thought our team played with great effort and played very physical,” said Foster. “St. John Paul is a team that has a great quarterback and really good receivers, so we just asked the kids to give us great effort in pursuing him all night, and when they needed a break, we would sub them out.

 “Our kids needed to put a full game together,” Foster added, “and prove to themselves they could play and hang with a good team that made the playoffs last year.”

Stars of the Game

• Burton: 31 carries for 239 yard and four touchdowns, with his longest carry being 50 yards
• Jaxon Cross: 12 carries for 191 yards and two touchdowns, with his longest carry being 32 yards
• The offensive line: “Anytime you have two backs combine for 430 yards, the guys up front are doing their jobs correctly,” said Foster.

Next Week
The Bulldogs (1-1, 1-0) will host Randolph (1-1, 1-0) in Priceville’s first home game of the season. Randolph is coming off a 32-25 victory over West Morgan.