Cody Baker (54) and Tyler Wade (89) wrap up West Morgan’s Zack Mills (23). | Special to the Enquirer: Todd Barker

Priceville’s Bulldogs ran roughshod over West Morgan’s Rebels 44-0 in a home opener at Priceville High School Thursday night.

The win was sparked by junior quarterback Kaleb Barker, junior fullback Aaron Cartee and senior wide receiver Lamar Burch.

Barker passed for two touchdowns and ran for two. He competed 10 of 13 passes for 227 yards and gained 110 yards rushing on 10 carries.

Cartee had 89 yard rushing on nine carries and two touchdowns. He also scored on a 22-yard pass from Barker.

Sam Brandon caught three passes for 89 yards and Burch had two catches for 46 yards and a touchdown.

Equally impressive was a Bulldog defense that held the Rebels to five first downs, three of which resulted from penalties, 20 yards rushing and 10 tackles for losses totaling 34 yards.

“It’s a good win,” said Priceville head coach Dirk Strunk. “Our kids played hard and made some big plays but they also made too many mistakes.“

Four holding penalties against the o-line are the most we’ve had in a game since I’ve been here. That’s something we’ve got to correct.”

“Our defense also played well,” he added. “But we haven’t yet gotten to where we want to be. There’s  still some little things we can do to improve.”

He singled out Dakota Parker, Bryan Parker, Jacob Vehrs, Truker Stapleton and Jake Cowart as defensive leaders.

The Bulldogs scored on their first possession. Covering 47 yards on two plays. Barker passed to Sam Brandon for 22 yards and scored on a keeper play from 25 yards out with 9:21 left in the first period. Lamar Burch booted his first of six straight extra points to make the score 7-0.

Cartee capped a 78-yard drive on six plays with a nine-yard run to give the Bulldogs their second touchdown. Burch added the PAT to make the score 14-0 with 8:51 left in the first half.

Cartee scored on a 23-yard pass from Barker with 5:46 left in the first half. Burch added the extra point to give the Bulldogs a 21-0 advantage.

Priceville scored again with 1:27 left in the first half on a two–yard run by Barker. Burch converted the PAT to make the score 28-0.

The Bulldogs added two more TDs and a safety in the third quarter before they retired to the sideline and allowed reserves to take over.

On their first possession of the second half, a high snap from the West Morgan center landed in the Bulldog end zone and was knocked out of the field of play, giving the Bulldogs a safety.

Burch scored on a 26-yard pass from Barker with 8:20 left to give the Bulldogs a 37-0 lead with 8:20 left in the third period.

The Bulldogs scored their final points on a 30-yard pass to Cartee with 4:49 left in the third period.

The Bulldogs will face off against JB Pennington at home Friday.