BEAUMONT — Powerful, steady and methodical … but most of all, Ashton Hunter was unstoppable as the junior running back led Bridge City to an impressive 35-0 win over non-district rival Kelly on Friday night at Bulldogs Stadium.

Hunter bulled ahead for 295 yards on 27 carries with one touchdown as the Cardinals picked up their first win of the 2012 campaign to move to 1-2 for the season. The junior back was the highlight on offense but the Cards’ defense also deserved a game ball after limiting Kelly to just 18 yards rushing and 35 yards passing with five first downs.

Although this one turned out to be a bit of a runaway by the Cardinals, the Bulldogs showed some spirit after limiting Bridge City to just four yards on its first possession of the game. In that drive, the Bulldogs had two tackles for a loss, forcing a BC punt.

On the ensuing drive, Kelly took two snaps, then fumbled away possession. That’s when the Hunter show got underway as he ran the ball on the next four snaps of the ball, taking off on a 30-yard jaunt to the 3. It was from there that Kruz Dearbonne bulled over for a 7-0 BC lead.

After exchanging possessions, Bridge City set up at its own 38 yard line. From there, Hunter scored his touchdown for the night, out-sprinting the Kelly secondary for 62 yards and a 14-0 lead with 5:53 left in the first half.

That’s where the game stood until midway through the third quarter when Hunter again went to work with runs of 6, 21, and 47 yards … on consecutive handoffs. One final run of three yards put the ball at the Kelly 1 where quarterback Daniel Faulk pushed in for the score and a 21-0 advantage at the 7:29 mark of the third.

Another Kelly punt in the fourth quarter offered the Cardinals a chance at the end zone and Hunter did not disappoint, taking three straight handoffs for 11, 5 and 16 yards with teammate Dearbonne crossing in from the 3 for a 28-0 lead with 8:09 left in the game.

Bridge City’s defense held steadfast once again, forcing another of Kelly’s nine punts on the night. That set up the Cards at the Bulldogs 41. This time it was Chase Shuggart who put on a show, dodging in and out of the Kelly defense to go 36 yards for the touchdown on BC’s third-down attempt.

Bridge City’s Jonah Lemoine finished with nine carries for 38 yards while Dearbonne had eight totes for 31. Faulk finished 3 of 9 passing for 52 yards. His top receiver was Adrian Schubarth with two catches for 29 yards.

Kelly’s Sean Bebeau led his team’s rushers with four carries for 20 yards, while Connor Moore hit 9 of 27 for 35 yards passing. Kelly falls to 0-2 with the loss.



Bridge City 35

Kelly 0





BC       7    7     7  14 — 35

Kelly    0     0     0     0 — 0



Scoring summary

Scoring Plays

BC – Kruz Dearbonne 3 run, Thomas Findlay kick (7:38/1Q)

BC – Ashton Hunter 62 run, Findlay kick (5:53/2Q)

BC – Daniel Faulk 1 run, Findlay kick (7:29/2Q)

BC – Dearbonne 3 run, Findlay kick (8:09/4Q)

BC – Chase Shuggart 36 run, Findlay (4:57/4Q)





———

                            BC           Kelly

First downs         22               5

Rushes-yards    56-396     17-18

Passing               52             35

Comp-Att-Int      3-9-0      9-27-0

Fumbles-Lost     5-2           2-2

Penalties-yards  8-50        6-40



INDIVIDUAL STATS

Rushing: Bridge City, Ashton Hunter 27-295, Jonah Lemoine 9-38, Kruz Dearbonne 8-31, Chase Shuggart 3-26, Adrian Schubarth 2-23, Zach Cole 1-(-1), Daniel Faulk 6-(-16); Kelly, Sean Bebeau 4-20, Jahmaal Dumes 3-14, Connor Moore 10-(-16).

Passing: Bridge City, Faulk 3-9-0 52; Kelly, Moore 9-27-0 35.

Receiving: Bridge City, Schubarth 2-29, Shuggart 1-23; Kelly, John Darling 2-26, Nicholas Prewitt 2-15, Shad Wise 2-3, Sean Bebeau 1-1, Thomas Falgout 1-(-5), Allonte Wingate 1-(-5).