PRINCETON - For the first 19 minutes of Princeton's conference opener against Spring Creek on Friday, the Bulldogs could do no wrong.

And although a high school football game consists of 48 minutes, Princeton's 41-point barrage in the first half effectively ended the game. The Bulldogs scored the first six times they saw the ball en route to a 48-20 victory over a Spring Creek squad that didn't know what hit it.

"Man, we came out ready to play," said Princeton coach Russell Williamson. "The kids were ready to play in the first half. We had talked about coming out and getting on them early, staying on them, and we did that. That first half is probably about as good as we've played all year. All phases were working pretty good for us."

After the Bulldogs followed up an Allen Cook interception with a 21-yard touchdown strike from David Gurganus to Dillon Daughtry, Amber Brush connected on her fifth extra point of the night, and Princeton was up 41-0. The Bulldogs piled up more than 200 yards of total offense over the first 19 minutes, while the Gators were held to negative 17 yards.

Princeton (5-2 overall, 1-0 conference) owned the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The hard-hitting Bulldog defense didn't allow a first down on the Gators' first five possessions, while the offensive line gave senior quarterback David Gurganus more than enough time to dissect Spring Creek's defense. Gurganus threw for 236 yards and five touchdowns, finding eight different receivers.

Special teams set the tone early on, as Allen Cook collected the opening kickoff, saw a seam down the left sideline and ran the ball 56 yards to Spring Creek's 24-yard line. Three plays later, Benton Myers took the pitch from Gurganus, cut back and plowed into the end zone for the early 7-0 lead.

Because of a suffocating defense and good punt returns, the average starting field position for the Bulldogs in the first half was Spring Creek's 40-yard line. The effort put forth by Princeton overwhelmed the Gators, who fell to 1-6 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

The Bulldogs forced four turnovers. Princeton picked off three Spring Creek passes, and Chris Hill stripped Gators running back Ricky Brayboy of the ball and walked into the end zone for a defensive touchdown at the start of the second quarter.

Spring Creek finally started to move the ball at the end of the first half, when scat back Ryan Jones ran a sweep past the Princeton defense for a 60-yard touchdown run. Jones duplicated the feat on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, when he added another 60-yard run to bring the Gators to within 41-14.

It didn't take long for the Bulldogs to squelch any idea of a Spring Creek comeback, however. On the ensuing kickoff, Phillip Mitchell found a lane and proceeded to race down the field before a touchdown-saving tackle. Mitchell's 65-yard return once again had the Bulldogs' offense in prime real estate at the Gators' 24-yard line. Gurganus connected with Benton Myers for the second time on the night as Princeton sealed the game.

Williamson talked of needing to bring a similarly tenacious effort to this week's game against the Rebels of North Duplin. "It's gonna take it because North Duplin has got a very good program over there and a good coaching staff," he said. "They'll be prepared, so we've got to be prepared too."