Things didn’t start out how the Jr. Bulldogs wanted Tuesday as they fell 40-12 to the Harris Blue Devils at J.C. Campbell Stadium for their season opener.

Despite the loss, the Jr. ’Dogs had some big plays that got the attention of Hampton head coach Alex Payne. One of those plays was a 30-yard touchdown rush in the second half by Ramsey Greenwell to give the Jr. Bulldogs their second touchdown of the contest making the score 34-12 with 5:43 left in the game. This was Greenwell’s debut as a tailback for the Jr. Bulldogs, and coach Payne was impressed to say the least.

“First of all, I am really proud of Ramsey Greenwell,” Jr. Bulldogs head coach Alex Payne said. “He ran hard all night. Even sometime, when holes were not there.”

He wasn’t starting tailback at the beginning of the year. We have had some injuries. I don’t know if he has ever started tailback before in his life. But at the same time, I am very proud of the way that he lowered his head and found a way to make yards there.”

Jr. Bulldogs quarterback Garrett Vines posted Hampton’s first touchdown of the evening when he broke away for a 56-yard touchdown run in the third frame to make the game a 28-6 contest with 6:17 left in the quarter.

At half time, the Blue Devils held a 22-0 lead. Harris posted a touchdown in the first, before scoring twice in the second quarter. One of the touchdowns was the result of a 29-yard TD toss form Harris QB Troy Hoilman to receiver Jeb Bell. Through out Tuesday’s contest, the Blue Devils’ air assault proved to be too much for the Jr. Bulldogs. In the second half, two of the three touchdowns for the Blue Devils were off passes.

“They are a really good passing team,” Payne said. “I saw that the other night when they played against Happy Valley. They can kill you with the option too. They are also well coached. They don’t have as many kids out.

“We do need to work on our pass defense obviously,” Payne added. “But it is going to be different next week, because Chucky-Doak is going to come in here and try to run right down our throats. We have got to work on a lot of things.”

Coach Payne added that he was happy with how eighth-graders Gavin Broshoe and Caleb McKinney performed on the line during the second half.

“I am proud of them also,” Payne said. “They blocked better in the second half.”

Nobody likes to lose, but losses can sometime reveal weaknesses that can be fixed, and Payne is expecting his Jr. Bulldogs to grow and get better through out the season.

“We can’t dwell on the loss,” Payne said. “We didn’t play very well, and that is on us as coaches. We will just have to improve and play better. We have a good solid group of kids, and I love coaching them. I think we will show the same resilience that they showed in the second half through out the season.”

The Jr. Bulldogs will host Chuckey-Doak next Thursday.