Bridgeport's Colin Jackson (17) eludes the pressure of Frontier's Braden McLeish during Saturday night's game in Martins Ferry.

MARTINS FERRY — Bridgeport made its Belmont County debut Saturday night, but it wasn’t one the Bulldogs will want to remember.

The Bulldogs (1-2) found themselves on the short end of a 16-0 count before they even lined up in their offensive formation. It didn’t get any better from there.

Visiting Frontier (3-0) ran out to a 30-0 lead after one quarter and never looked back in hammering Bridgeport, 50-6, on Senior Night at Purple Rider Stadium inside the Dave Bruney Football Complex.

“It snowballed on us from the start,” Bridgeport head coach Fred Ray said of the poor start. “Our youth got exposed once again. It’s the same story each and every week, but we’ve got to stop the turnovers and giving the opponents a short field. Once we can limit that, we’ll be okay.”

The Cougars took the opening kickoff and marched 60 yards on 8 plays as senior fullback Noah Barnhart bulled in from the 2. JD Schmidt found Tanner Bills for the two-points.

On the ensuing kickoff, Bridgeport fumbled the ball and Frontier’s Breckin Hoff recovered at the Bulldogs’ 25.

It took four plays to cover the distance as Bills took a counter handoff for 12 yards and six points. Slade Amos ran for the two-point conversion, making it 16-0 with 7-minutes, 6-seconds on the clock.

Following a Schmidt interception, the Cougars coughed the ball up at the Bridgeport 2 as Christian Waterman fell on it.

Schmidt atoned for his miscue by running 8 yards for a touchdown on the Cougars next possession. He then found Bills for the 2-point PAT and a 24-0 lead.

Bridgeport once again couldn’t generate any offense and punted away. It only took Frontier two plays to reach the end zone as Schmidt and Bills connected from 21 yards out on the final play of the first quarter. The conversion run failed, leaving the visitors with a 30-0 advantage.

Schmidt, who went 9-for-15 for 129 yards and three TDs, nailed Hoff on a slant from 23 yards out. Barnhart, a 225-pound bruiser, ran in for the two points and a 38-0 halftime lead.

The second half was played with a continuous running clock under the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s 30-point mercy rule.

Barnhart scored from a yard out in the third quarter as the Cougars held a 44-0 margin.

Amos rumbled 22 yards for Frontier’s final TD.

Bridgeport avoided being blanked when Peyton Pyle scooted 9 yards over the right side of the line with 4:08 left to play.

The Bulldogs could only manage 123 yards of total offense, with 96 of that coming via the air as Colin Jackson, who was running for his life most of the night, completed 10 of 16. Mason Aberts caught five for 38. The running game picked up 27 stripes on 21 carries.

Frontier ran for 210 yards and five touchdowns as Amos led the way with 89 on 13 trips. Bills had 63 on three carries and Barnhart scored twice and totaled 42 on a dozen totes.

Bridgeport’s opponent for next week is still unannounced as Paden City was forced to end its season Friday night due to a lack of numbers.