For nearly 30 minutes, it appeared Dothan was on the ropes against Baker in a Class 7A non-region game at Baker’s Clem Richardson Stadium on Friday night.

Then the Wolves’ running game finally caught fire.

AJ Alexander rushed 20 times for 180 yards and a touchdown, and Tamarion Peterson scored three touchdowns — the last coming with less than three minutes left in the game — as Dothan ran away with a 35-14 win to top the previously unbeaten Hornets and improve to 6-1 on the season.

“He’s a special talent,” Dothan head coach Jed Kennedy said of Peterson. “He’s only a sophomore. Our kids came out and really played hard in the second half. We’ve got wide receivers who are unselfish and are willing to block.”

Baker (5-1) was led by Mississippi State commit Josh Flowers, who finished the night 8-of-19 passing for 130 yards and a touchdown and rushed 16 times for 105 yards and a touchdown. However, he also threw a costly interception that led to a Dothan touchdown and was harassed in the second half by Dothan’s furious blitz.

“We had a couple of kids go down on our offensive front, and they were able to pressure us a little bit more,” said Baker head coach Steve Normand. “They were sending a lot of blitzes and a lot of inside stuff, and he (Flowers) was running for his life sometimes.”

Both teams were locked in a defensive battle for most of the first half until Flowers scored on an 8-yard run with 1:15 left before halftime. Peterson capped Dothan’s first possession of the second half with a 1-yard touchdown. The teams then traded scores when Flowers hit Auburn commit Bryce Cain on a 58-yard touchdown pass and Dothan’s Sam Broadaway answering with an 81-yard touchdown pass to La’Derias Thomas to make it 14-all with 6:26 left in the third quarter.

Peterson’s second touchdown of the night, a 1-yard run with 4.8 seconds left in the third quarter, broke the tie, and the Wolves put the game on ice in the fourth quarter when Alexander scored on a 14-yard run after Gabe Smith intercepted a Flowers pass. Peterson scored from 3 yards out with just over two minutes left in the game.

“Going up 7-0 was pretty good, but I told our guys it wasn’t enough,” Normand said. “They’re a powerful offense, and they can do a lot of stuff and they do it very well. We knew it was going to be tough; we had some miscues on special teams, and we got to get that fixed.”

Star of the game: No doubt it had to be Alexander, who was the featured back in Dothan’s rushing attack. But give props to the Wolves’ defense, as it slowed Baker’s usually potent offense.

Play of the game: Actually, there was one on both offense and defense. The offensive play of the game came after Baker went up 14-7. On Dothan’s next possession, Broadaway threw a frozen rope to Thomas, who went to the races and tied the game. The defensive play of the game came in the fourth quarter, when Smith intercepted Flowers’ pass. It set up Alexander’s touchdown run and gave the Wolves some breathing room.

By the numbers: 5, total number of passes attempted by Dothan; 13, total number of first downs for Baker; 15, total number of first downs for Dothan; 28, total number of unanswered points Dothan scored; 228, total rushing yards for Dothan.

Stat sheet: For Dothan, Broadaway was 3-of-4 passing for 129 yards and a touchdown. For Baker, Roderick Taylor rushed nine times for 70 yards, Kevin Beckham, Jr. caught four passes for 42 yards, and Cain caught four passes for 88 yards.

Coachspeak: “We pride ourselves in being physical and being able to run the football. I think in the first half, we were still on the bus and in the second half, we looked like a playoff football team. At halftime, I told our guys if we played like this the rest of the game, it was going to be a long bus ride home.” — Kennedy.

“Class 7A football is never easy. That’s a top 10 team in the state, and they’re going to battle for a region title down here. They’re unbelievably skilled on offense, and their coach is doing a great job.” — Kennedy on Baker’s offense.

“That was a non-conference game, but it gives you something to build on. It’s shows us where we’re at and what we need to do to get better. It gives us some stuff to work on and how to get ready for next week.” — Normand.

Up next: Both teams resume region play next week, with Dothan traveling to Central-Phenix City and Baker traveling to play Alma Bryant.