The only real contest in the first half of Friday's District 5-3A showdown was which unit was better, the Bridgeport defense, or its high-powered offense?
Bridgeport stuffed Burkburnett early and exploded for 21 points in the second quarter to take a 24-0 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs showed up with some fight for the second half, but it was the Bulls who took a big step toward a district title with a 31-15 victory.
The Bull's defense got the nod as the best unit early, winning a battle of field position with some help from punter-kicker Ricky Martinez to take a 3-0 lead.
But then Cameron Green and the Bridgeport offense showed off their skills with a 21-point second quarter to build a 24-0 lead. Green passed for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the second quarter against a Burkburnett defense that posted first-half shutouts in the first four weeks of the season. His brother, Corbin Green, scored the first touchdown of the second period on an 18-yard run in which he was hit at the line of scrimmage and still busted loose for a 10-0 lead.
Corbin Green finished with 95 yards rushing, but his big brother was the star of the show with 342 yards passing, hitting 23-of-33 passes without a turnover against him.
"First of all, we wanted to try and hang on to the ball because Burk has forced so many turnovers," Bridgeport coach Danny Henson said, "and then we wanted to get off to a quick start, which nobody has been able to do up to this point. I thought our whole team did a good job of that."
In the second quarter spree, Cameron Green faked out the Burk defense with play-action and hit a wide open Jace Hudson for a 75-yard touchdown for a 17-0 lead. And late in the first half, facing fourth-and-10 from the 25, Green scrambled out of the pocket to his left and found John Arrington for a touchdown. That came after a personal foul derailed a good Burk chance.
Green was 15-of-22 for 268 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, giving Bridgeport 336 yards before the bands had a chance to play.
Burkburnett showed signs of life in the second half, missing out on one drive that reached the four when a snap went awry on a field-goal try. But the kicking game kicked in as Jay Gould ran a punt back 65 yards to put the Bulldogs on the board.
The Bulls' Daniel Scott had two sacks and was in the middle of everything as Bridgeport stuffed Burkburnett for no gain or negative plays on 11 of 21 first-half rushes.
