The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

STANFIELD, Ore. - Cornerback Wyatt Frame clearly felt awkward being on the sideline watching his teammates take on the Stanfield Tigers without him and linebacker Joey Schlachter in the Dayton Bulldogs' first game of the season Friday.

But the Bulldogs did well without the two injured starters, beating the Oregon team handily at home, 20-0, and chalking up its first seasonopening win in four years.

"You always have your doubts when you don't have two of your starters," Bulldogs head coach Dean Bickelhaupt said. "But the younger kids really stepped up. It's always nice to start out with a win. It's a confidence builder."

Thanks to a 59-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Fullerton, quarterback Colton Bickelhaupt made sure his team scored early roughly halfway during the first quarter. Fullerton, who seemed to be at the right place at the right throughout the game, secured the 7-0 lead by kicking the extra point.

The Bulldogs' defense settled into its campaign to deny the Tigers any score, let alone a comeback, an effort that took a beating from the Stanfield ground attack, but held together thanks to numerous Tigers penalties and sheer Bulldogs tenacity.

Coach Bickelhaupt had particular praise for junior Chris Conley, sophomore Guy Spalinger, freshman Andrew Mendoza and 135-pound Johnnie Sanchez, a junior - none of whom had much varsity experience before the season.

"It's nice to have kids like that with a lot of heart," Bickelhaupt said about the novice starters filling gaps on offense and defense for the injured Frame and Schlachter. "They did a good job."

The rest of the first and the entire second quarters was scoreless. Bickelhaupt threw two interceptions, and for a fleeting moment, it seemed like old patterns of mistakes were back to haunt the Dayton team.

But the Bulldogs remained noticeably composed, radiating a new-found maturity that stems from the senior leadership of its upper classmen, including quarterback Bickelhaupt and tackle Kroft Sunderland, who performed solidly and consistently on defense, coach Bickelhaupt said.

"He's the real deal," the elder Bickelhaupt said about Sunderland, whom he described as "quick-footed" despite his 270 pounds. "He covers a lot of ground."

The Tigers, relentlessly hammering straight up the middle into the Bulldogs' defensive line, advanced several times during the second quarter, but were stymied each time. The Tigers had trouble connecting in their passing game, whereas the Bulldogs did so effectively for plays leading to scores in the red zone twice.

During the third quarter, Fullterton caught a 14-foot Bickelhaupt pass for a second touchdown, but the extra point kick was deflected.

Bickelhaupt picked up more and more steam into fourth quarter, making several successful runs and scoring on a spectacular end-zone scamper from the 2-yard line. The quarterback stepped back in the pocket, faked his throw, headed for the end zone and dove over a defender to reach the end zone, putting his team ahead 19-0. This time, the extra point kick by Fullteron was good and the Bulldogs sealed their dominant performance with a 20-0 win.

Coach Bickelhaupt said the Bulldogs have some work to do. There were plenty of penalties, interceptions and near interceptions, incomplete passes, miscues and false starts.

"We have a lot to work on," he said.

But such mistakes are invaluable for the younger players, who are picking up experience ahead of the Bulldogs' first league game against Tri Cities Prep on Sept. 30.

"It helps us with our depth on the bench because we don't have a lot of kids," said Bickelhaupt, who nonetheless picked up four more players this past week to bring his roster to 29. "That will be very helpful when we go deeper into the season."

As helpful as it is to win a season-opener, it can also lead to overconfidence," Bickelhaupt said. Following the game, he made sure his players didn't let Friday's victory go to their heads.

"We have to be careful not to get overconfident too quickly," he said. "I told the boys that we now have to work harder yet."

Dayton Bulldogs Football Roster 2011

Christian Warner 10

Garett Turner 12

Guy Sparling 10

Colton Bicklehaupt 12

Johnny Sanchez 11

Wyatt Frame 11

Colton West 9

Ryan Proctor 10

Hayden Fullerton 12

Dakota Hayes 11

Isaiah Lambert 11

Joey Schlacter 12

Lowden Smith 10

Kane Hackett 11

Alex Eaton 12

Levi Laib 9

Steve Gonzalez 9

James Vance 9

Andrew Mendoza 9

Kroft Sunderland 9

Brandon Goodell 9

Chris Conley 11

Alex Naylor 11

Chase Sapp 12

Aiden Gemmell 9

Chris McCaffie 11

Lincoln Riley 10

Derek McCleary 9

Head Coach: Dean Bickelhaupt; Asst. Coach: Greg Fullerton;

Volunteer Asst. Coaches: Joe Anderson, Lance Ross, Chris Smith,

Jeremy Trump; Mgr: Cal Martin, Cruz Ramirez, Tavin Seeny, Colby

Sunderland; Stats: Roy Ramirez, Clayton Strong

Camera: Jeff Turner