Sophomore running back Anthony Fraiser ran for 119 yards and a touchdown Friday night, and St. Paul’s offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage all game as the Saints won the Battle of Old Shell Road 14-7 over rival UMS-Wright at Ervin Cooper Stadium.

Running behind massive, 6-foot-5, 295-pound left tackle and South Alabama commit Asher Hale for most of the game, Fraiser pounded the Bulldogs’ defense as the Class 6A Saints’ took a 14-0 lead.

UMS quarterback Joe Lott uncorked an electrifying 72-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter, however, and Kingston Phan’s PAT cut the UMS deficit in half to finally get the home crowd excited.

The play seemed to ignite the 9th-ranked Class 5A Bulldogs, who forced a 3-and-out on St. Paul’s next possession, but the Saints defense didn’t wilt and looked to have put the game away.

But, as St. Paul’s tried to put an end to things by going for it on 4th-and-2 at the UMS 32 with 3:12 left, a bad snap sailed over Fraiser’s head in the wildcat formation and the Bulldogs recovered at the Saints’ 49.

They drove to the St. Paul’s 21 before Saints defensive back Kenny Johnson intercepted a tipped Lott pass at the 13 with just 0:51 seconds left.

St. Paul’s other score came on a 15-yard Braxton Byrd to Anthony Jones TD pass in the first quarter.

Play of the Game: UMS came out on fire in the second half and, with no passing game to speak of, it turned to the run. The Bulldogs uncorked a 12-play, nearly 9-minute drive from its 17 to the Saints 17, before Lott was stopped a yard short of a first down on 4th-and-5 at the 13 with 3:03 to go in the period.

By The Numbers: (3) Number of first downs UMS had in the first half; (45) Number of times the two schools have played … (4) Number of completions Lott had on just 8 attempts; (1) Wins second-year St. Paul’s coach Ham Barnett now has over the school’s rival.

Game ball: Hale, fellow offensive lineman Taylor O’Dell and the rest of the O-Line for taking control of the game from the beginning snap and never letting up.

Coachspeak: “We were faster, stronger and I’m so proud of these boys because they’ve done everything I’ve asked them to do. The offensive line is nasty. I told them we were going to run it. 77 (Hale) is our guy. He’s our leader up front and we ran behind him tonight.” — St. Paul’s coach Ham Barnett.

They Said It: “I just try to do my best for the team. I love playing with them and I love winning with them. I’m just so happy to win this game tonight. I’m ecstatic.” — Asher Hale

“That was the game plan, to run behind Asher. I like to run the stretch play. I like it because I like to get in the open field. If I get in the open field, I feel like I really can’t be touched.” — Anthony Fraiser

“We just made a lot of young mistakes … bad route running, and just didn’t make a lot of plays. When you play somebody like that you can’t have a lot of motion penalties, fumbled snaps and those kind of things.” –UMS coach Terry Curtis

Next week: The Saints host McGill-Toolen to begin Region 1 play Friday, while UMS travels to Class 4A T.R. Miller.