The Oskaloosa Bears used a 20 point third quarter to pull away and pick up a 40-22 win over Valley Falls on the road Friday night in game one of the high school football regular season.

Kyle Hopkins ran it in from six yards out with five seconds left in the second quarter to make it 20-14 in favor of the Bears. It gave Oskaloosa the momentum heading into the halftime break, and they rode the wave throughout the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

Valley Falls hung tough early as they took the opening kickoff of the ballgame and drove straight down the field for the first score of 2015 on a Koltyn Maltsbarger seven-yard rush with 5:41 left in the opening frame. Marty Gatzemeyer tacked on the two-point conversion to make it 8-0, Dragons.

Oskaloosa responded by getting great field position on the ensuing kickoff, and two plays later Hopkins took a hand-off and went 41 yards up the left sideline for his first score of the contest with 4:44 left in the first. He tacked on the two-point conversion to tie the game up.

The Dragons came right back and went on a lengthy nine minute drive capped off by a Gatzemeyer eight-yard touchdown connection with tight end Zac Allen who made a spectacular diving catch on the play. The two-point conversion try failed leaving the score 14-8, Dragons with 7:41 left in the second.

It didn’t take Oskaloosa long to respond as Hopkins went 41 yards for the second time of the night to tie the contest up at 14 with 4:54 left in the half after the conversion failed.

After a quick  stop by the Bears defense they gave the offense 1:30 to try to take the lead before the half, and they did just that with Hopkins picking up his third score of the night to make it 20-14 in favor of Oskaloosa heading into the break.

The Bears came out of the halftime break and scored back-to-back touchdowns capped off by a Hopkins 67-yard rush with 4:13 to go in the third to make it 34-14.

On the ensuing kick, Oskaloosa forced a fumble and Dillon Grother came away with a 30-yard scoop and score to finish off the scoring for the Bears.

Kyle Hopkins finished with 14 carries for 213 yards and four touchdowns for Oskaloosa, while Marty Gatzemeyer led the charge for the Dragons finishing with 100 yard on 16 carries and a score.

The Bears start the season off 1-0 and now look ahead to a matchup with Jefferson County North next Friday for their home opener, while Valley Falls drops to 0-1 to start 2015 as they will be on the road next week at Pleasant Ridge.