By Mike Vlahovich, NWPrepsNow.com
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Visiting Gonzaga Prep found itself trailing University after a quarter. Then Sam Dowd gave them a jump start.
In his first varsity offensive appearance, Dowd substituted for Jack Bamis, who was forced to sit most of the half with an injury, rushing for 93 first-half yards and two touchdowns as the Bullpups (2-0) roared to a 51-28 victory over the Titans (0-2) Friday night.
Bamis had rushed for 182 yards a week earlier. Standing nearly a foot shorter, Dowd provided a quicker, shiftier style that defined him on the basketball court last winter.
“I was my first night of offense since I was a kid,” said Dowd, who has beem vital on defense. “I wanted to try it.”
The Titans jumped on Prep early as Trevor Martin returned the opening kickoff 50 yards, caught passes of 23 and 12 yards to set up their first touchdown, a pass from Jeff Beaty to Michael Prothero.
Prep came right back, covering 68 yards in a nearly four-minute drive, Dowd carrying five straight times for 41 yards and the tying score.
A 66-yard Beaty to Martin bomb put U-Hi back ahead near the end of the first quarter. But that was all she wrote. Shredding the Titans defense with its option running game, Prep built a 23-14 lead at halftime, upped it to 44-14 through three quarters and led 51-14 before U-Hi scored back-to-back touchdowns, 23 seconds apart in the final five minutes of the game.
Bamis was back on the field in the second half and finished with 52 yards and two touchdowns.
Coach Dave McKenna was complimentary of the Titans, saying, “It was a tale of two halves. They made big plays on us.”
Prep tweaked its defense and bowled over the shoddy tackling foe, gaining 425 yards rushing on 64 carries and 500 total yards of offense. This by a team with nine new offensive starters.