Kolin Wilson had two touchdowns and Ronnie Royal had another as No. 8 Gulf Shores survived two big Faith Academy plays and held off the No. 3 Rams in Class 5A, Region 1 action at Ram Field on Friday night.

Wilson finished the night with 92 yards on 16 carries while Royal — who also played on defense and special teams as a kick returner — had 77 yards on 17 carries as the Dolphins improved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in region play.

“It’s not just a me thing, I’ve got to do it for my teammates,” said Royal. “If I get knocked out one play, I’m going to come back the next play. We knew it was going to be a dogfight coming into the game, but we didn’t back down from it. I’ve been playing both ways since I started playing football.”

“Those guys are a great combination,” said Gulf Shores’ head coach Mark Hudspeth of Wilson and Royal. “Anytime you run the ball that good against a team like that, you have to give credit to the guys up front. They really came and got some movement and helped our quarterback.”

Hudspeth said three starters were suspended for Friday’s game — defensive back/wide receiver Braden Jackson, defensive back Carter Byrd and linebacker Jamichael Garrett, who transferred to Gulf Shores from Oxford last month.

“We’re going to do the right things,” Hudspeth said. “Those guys will be back. But when you break a team rule, that was disappointing. Our guys stepped up. We’ve got a next-man mentality and some guys stepped up tonight.”

Gulf Shores’ defense was tough as well, holding Faith running back EJ King to only 45 yards on 12 carries. The Dolphins hounded Ram quarterback Jarrett Daughtry all evening long, forcing him to throw three picks — one by Elijah Myers late in the game that thwarted any chance of a Ram comeback.

Daughtry finished the night 11-of-25 for 127 yards and a touchdown.

Gulf Shores freshman QB Jud Harris finished the night 7-of-11 for 68 yards and a score. He also rushed three times for 17 yards.

“I think our defense dominated the game 98 percent of the time,” Hudspeth said. “We were physical all night long.”

Faith had two big plays — an 80-yard touchdown run on a reverse by Ty Goodwill and a 98-yard pick-six by Jaeden Simmons — but the Rams were unable to put together sustained drives.

“We showed moments of what we could do, but we just couldn’t do it,” said Ram coach Jack French. “We were never consistent, and that’s my fault.”

Gulf Shores took advantage of a muffed punt snap in the first quarter, which led to great position at the Faith 19. Wilson scored from 1 yard out four plays later to put the Dolphins up 7-0. On its next possession, Gulf Shores found the end zone again when Harris found Isaiah Hammac on a 6-yard touchdown pass, and it appeared the Dolphins would run away with the game.

Faith narrowed the gap on the ensuing possession when Goodwill caught the Dolphins defense flatfooted and scored on an 80-yard run on a reverse. But with 4:24 left in the half, Wilson scored on a 5-yard run to give Gulf Shores a 21-7 halftime lead.

Will Langston’s 27-yard field goal early in the third quarter put the Dolphins up by 17. Faith turned the ball over on an interception, but the Dolphins returned the favor when Harris’ errant throw found its way into the hands of Simmons, who scooted down the right sideline on a 98-yard interception return for a score and trim the lead to 10.

A bad snap on a Gulf Shores punt attempt resulted in a safety which made it 24-16.

But the Rams were not able to mount successful drives on their remaining possessions. Royal’s 2-yard touchdown run with 1:38 left in the game ended the scoring, and the Rams’ final possession ended with Myers intercepting Daughtry, and Harris kneeled to run out the clock.

Both teams continue region play next Friday night. Gulf Shores hosts UMS-Wright and Faith Academy visits B.C. Rain.