MANCHESTER - With former Mount Anthony Union High School standout Chris Redding now wearing the green and gold of Burr and Burton Academy, the senior became a focal point for both teams on Friday night at Applejack Field.

In his first game for the Bulldogs, Redding didn't disappoint.

Redding ran for two touchdowns, caught one from quarterback Jake Stalcup and even threw a 65-yarder on a halfback pass on the first play of the second half in a 52-33 slugfest over the Patriots.

"It's a good feeling to start the season with a win," said Redding. "Putting up 50 is no slouch. We really showed our explosiveness."

After MAU ended the half on a defensive stop trailing 27-13, the Bulldogs got the kickoff to start the second half. Stalcup took the snap, handed to Redding, who flung it 65 yards to Seth Wilkins for the score to take a 33-13 advantage.

"Coach Thomas knows how to use his athletes," Redding said. "He knew I could throw and the chance came and I made a good throw."

Thomas said he had intended to run a double pass to open the game, but MAU's defense stopped it. When the second half began, he decided to let Redding air it out.

"Chris is a known quantity to them, they know he can throw it," Thomas said. "We have two guys that are legitimate quarterbacks and that gives us a nice edge."

The regular Bulldogs quarterback, Stalcup, the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2011, started the season with a nice effort, going 16-for-30 for 269 yards and three

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touchdowns.

Wilson Vickers, a sophomore in his first varsity start, caught two of the three scores - a 28-yarder in the first half and a 20-yarder to give BBA a 40-20 lead late in the third quarter.

For MAU, Jacob Normyle rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns overall, adding two touchdown catches in the second half.

In his first game under center, Damon Young took the majority of the time, rushing for 135 yards on 18 carries.

"We have a lot of first-year guys and it's a big shot to them," said MAU coach Bill Hay. "We made mistakes and they took advantage of them."

MAU's offense sputtered out of the gate with turnovers. After a lengthy drive, the Patriots fumbled, giving the ball back to the Bulldogs, who went down and scored shortly after on Redding's first rushing touchdown.

BBA took a 14-0 lead when they blocked a Patriot punt in the end zone, but MAU came back on a subsquent drive, scoring on Young's only pass of the first half, a 17-yard strike to Tyler Mattison.