Bulldogs run past Cerro Gordo in season opener

Ross Rider and Tysen Satterfield each accounted for two touchdowns a piece as Harrisburg won its season opener, knocking off Cerro Gordo 34-6 at Taylor Field Friday night.

The Bulldogs (1-0) got the scoring going in the first quarter when last year's SIRR Ohio All-Conference representative, Bryant Lester bulled his way in from one-yard out.

On the ensuing kick off, Cerro Gordo (0-1) fumbled, which was recovered by Cole Riggs at the Bulldogs' 26-yard line, from there Rider scored from 13 yards out.

In the second quarter, Broncos quarterback Collin Warren plunged his way in from one-yard out as Cerro Gordo cut the deficit to eight at 14-6.

But from there, it was all Harrisburg as the Bulldogs closed out the first half on a 4th-and-sixth from 32 yards out as QB Ben Gulley dropped a dime to Satterfield as Harrisburg took a 20-6 lead in the locker room.

In the second half, Rider found pay dirt from 24 yards out and Satterfield racked up TD No. 2 on an 82-yard sprint down the left sideline.

It was the first win for new head coach Matt Griffith, who played his high school ball at Marion and then had a successful career at SIU. HIs players showered him with a Gatorade bath as he soaked in the victory.

"It meant a lot for our players to come out and get the job done," he said. "We've been telling them since Day 1 that we believe in them. Everything is going to come down to can we get the job done? Tonight, we got the job done.

"We made a lot of mistakes," Griffith added. "There are a lot of things we're going to need to shore up. Cerro Gordo is a great team and they played hard, they stuck it to us and we had to be ready for it. Now, with Du Quoin coming in next week, we get ready for the next step. So, obviously it's great to get this win. I'm proud of these boys and proud of this coaching staff, everything was meshing when we needed it too and when adversity hit and we had some problems, they stepped up and got the job done."

Spyder Dann covers prep and college sports for the Southern Illinois LOCAL Media Group. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.