Union (Dugger) fullback Frank Boyd (45) makes a cut in the backfield as he receives a block from tailback Adam Lipscomb (11). Boyd rushed for 97 yards on the night in the Bulldogs 48-8 win over North Central here Friday night. (By Travis David/Greene County Daily World). [Order this photo]

DUGGER -- Union (Dugger) High School football coach Todd Gambill knew that he had a much improved team from last season's 3-7 team, but never thought he had this good of an offense. After losing 28-8 last season to North Central in the opener, the Bulldogs turned the tables on the Thunderbirds Friday night by trouncing the guests 48-8 to open up the season with a bang.

"I had no idea we could score that many points," and elated Gambill said. "Our offensive line dominated up front and opened up some big holes for our running game."

Last season it was Thunderbirds Michael Woodsmall that lit up the scoreboard by scoring four touchdowns and having over 200 all-purpose yards.

Friday night it was Bulldogs senior quarterback B.J. Howard who was the star. Howard found pay dirt four times and rushed for 158 yards on 10 carries and gained another 44 yards through the air.

"B.J. had a great game tonight," Gambill said. "Whenever the offensive line would give him the slightest hole, he attacked it and made the defense pay."

Howard scored on runs on 1, 61, 34 and 24.

Despite Howard's heroics on the offensive side of the ball, it was the Bulldogs defense that set the tone early in the game. On the second play from scrimmage, senior defensive back Adam Lipscomb stepped in front of a pass from Thunderbird quarterback Brett Lewis to set up the Bulldogs offense on their own 11-yard line.

"Our defense set the tone early on," Gambill said. "Adam made a nice read on the ball to halt their first possession. He had a game like you want to see out of your senior players."

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 21-0 lead after Frank Boyd took a hand-off from Howard on the right side and made a nice cutback to slice through the Thunderbirds defense for a 28-yard scamper.

After the Bulldogs defense stopped the T-Birds once again, the Bulldog offense had a rare three and out series. Logan Chesterfield took a high snap from center on the ensuing punt and his punt was partially blocked, giving the Thunderbirds possession on the Union (Dugger) 21.

Lewis would team up with Dylan Walker on the first play for a 21-yard touchdown strike as Walker out leaped Lipscomb and dove for the pylon at the goal line for the score. Lewis would keep the ball and just sneak inside the goal line for a successful two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 21-8 with 4 minutes and 16 seconds remaining on the clock in the first half.

Howard would dash away any hopes of momentum shifting sides as he was flushed out of the pocket and dashed for the right sideline before cutting back to the middle of the field for his third score of the night stretching the Bulldogs lead back to three scores right before the half ended

"After that score by B.J. before the half, we really had them in back pedal mode," Gambill said. "It was nice to see the offense answer after we had a slight breakdown in defense to let them get their score."

With Howard resting on the bench for most of the second half, the Bulldogs received almost the same production out of their fullback, Boyd. The sophomore finished the night with 97 yards rushing with one touchdown.

With the offensive line getting the push off the line of scrimmage, it made Gambill look like a genius with whoever he decided to throw in the mix in the back field.

Senior Brandon Stugera finished the night with 63 yards rushing on 11 carries with one touchdown, Jesse Lipscomb gained 40 yards on the ground, while Adam Lipscomb totaled 38 yards.

Back-up quarterback Trent Collins tallied the final score for the Bulldogs when he knifed through the T-Bird defense for a 31-yard score.

Fred Brust and Jordan Secrest also each received a carry in the rout, as the two combined for 10 yards.

"It was nice to be able to get that many kids into the game and see production out of all of them," Gambill said. "I though everyone played really hard tonight."

Walker led all receivers with 112 yards receiving for the Thunderbirds including the lone score. The T-Bird rushers combined for a meager six yards on the ground on 22 carries.

"We didn't give away any big plays in their rushing game which was really good to see after last season's game," Gambill said. "Our lines really dominated the game tonight on both sides of the ball."

The Bulldogs will travel to Riverton Parke next Friday night.

BULLDOGS 48, THUNDERBIRDS 8

First Quarter

U -- B.J. Howard 1 run (Logan Chesterfield kick), 9:57

U -- Howard 61 run (Chesterfield kick), 1:26

Second Quarter

U -- Frank Boyd 28 run (Chesterfield kick), 10:06

N -- Dylan Walker 21 pass from Brett Lewis (Lewis run), 4:16

U -- Howard 34 run (kicked failed), 1:14

Third Quarter

U -- Howard 24 run (kick failed), 10:05

U -- Brandon Stugera 2 run (Fred Brust kick), 3:13

Fourth Quarter

U -- Safety (Punter stepped out of end zone), 7:42

U -- Trent Collins 31 run (kick failed), 5:08

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--North Central, Mark Linnenkamp 11-19, Nate Lyday 7-(minus 4), Zach Lyday 4-(minus 9). Union (Dugger), Howard 10-158, Stugera 11-63, Adam Lipscomb 7-38, Boyd 13-97, Jesse Lipscomb 7-40, Collins 7-33, Fred Brust 1-7, Jordan Secrest 1-3.

PASSING--North Central, Lewis 4-7-1 77, Zach Lyday 2-5-0 32. Union (Dugger), Howard 3-8-0 44.

RECEIVING--North Central, Walker 5-112, Linnenkamp 1-(minus 3). Union (Dugger), Blane Boyd 2-17, Wes Marshall 1-27.