Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

BRIDGE CITY – Riding the wave of senior standout quarterback Luke Thomas, the Huffman Falcons remained undefeated on the season after downing Bridge City 38-2 to give the Cardinals their first loss of the season at Larry Ward Stadium Friday night.

Thomas completed 13-of-23 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns and returned one of his two interceptions 94 yards for another score.

The Falcons (3-0) picked off five passes by the Cardinals (2-1) and their defense was stingy.

The Falcons held the Cardinals to 177 yards of total offense. Huffman allowed a safety, giving up their first points of the season. Through three games they have outscored their opponents 115-2.

Bridge City quarterback Ethan Oceguera was 7-of-17 for 55 yards and was picked off four times while Cardinal backup Justin Abate was picked off once.

Huffman finished with 378 total yards.

Huffman receiver Gurnnar Gates caught three passes for 106 yards and a touchdown while fellow receiver Tyler Watkins had two catches for 45 yards and two scores. Dylan McMullen led the Falcon ground game with 80 yards and a touchdown on four carries while Thomas had 47 yards on nine totes.

Bridge City back Davien Edwards ran hard, finishing with 90 yards on 21 carries. Oceguera had 29 yards on 19 carries. Cardinal receiver Kyler Garlaska had three receptions for 45 yards.

Huffman took a 20-0 lead into intermission after a big half from Thomas on both sides of the ball.

The Cardinals ran 37 plays to the Falcons’ 24 in the first half but the Falcons came up with big plays, outgaining Bridge City 176-117.

The Falcons took their second possession of the game and marched 82 yards in seven plays. Thomas passed for 37 yards and ran for 38 more on the series and capped it when he tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver Wilkins. Jonathan Klepetko booted the extra-point to give the Falcons a 7-0 edge with 7:33 in the first quarter.

Huffman struck quickly on their next series that went 58 yards in just three plays. Thomas hit a streaking receiver in Gates in stride down the right side for a 54-yard touchdown bomb, increasing the lead to 14-0 with 5:02 in the first quarter.

The Cardinals had a good march going early in the second quarter going from their own 42 to the Falcon 21 in six plays with Oceguera hitting Garlaska on a big 23-yard pass play on the series in which Oceguera had a great scramble to buy time. However, the Falcons’ Thomas thwarted the Cardinal drive in a big way when he stepped in front of a Oceguera pass at the 6 and returned it 94 yards down the left side for a touchdown. The point-after kick failed as the Falcons snared a 20-0 lead with 7:03 in the half.

Thomas completed 7-of-12 passes for 126 yards in the half with Gates hauling in two of them for 56 yards. Thomas had 31 yards on seven carries in the half while Harrison had 19 yards on five totes.

Oceguera completed 6-of-13 passes for 52 yards in the half with two interceptions. The last one was a desperation pass with 0:01 left in the half as the Cardinals tried to score after BC linebacker Harrison Gauthier picked up a fumble and returned it to the Falcon 35 with one tick left.

Oceguera rushed for 30 yards on 12 carries and Edwards had 29 yards on nine totes. Garlaska had three catches for 45 yards.

The Cardinals blocked a Falcon punt and took over at the Huffman 15 with 9:52 in the third. Edwards eventually broke loose for a 10-yard gain to the 2. However, the Huffman defense stood firm, stuffing four straight Cardinal running plays to take over at their own 6.

Bridge City still came away with points though on the next play when Cardinal linebacker Mason Pruitt sacked Thomas in the end zone for a safety to trim it to 20-2 with 7:32 in the third.

Huffman got on the board gain late in the third quarter by going 43 yards in three plays. Thomas capped it when he spotted receiver Wilkins over the middle near the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown toss. Thomas then found Gates on the two-point conversion pass to make it 28-2 with 0:15 in the third.

Dylan McMullen broke loose on a 67-yard touchdown run right up the middle with 8:21 left after teammate Connor Holbrooks picked off an Abate pass at the Falcon 33 to push it to 35-2.

Working with a short field, the Falcons settled for a 29-yard Klepetko field goal to make it 38-2 with 4:53 remaining.

The Cardinals will look to bounce back when they hit the road next week when they venture to Anahuac.