ERIE — Even with two starters out, the Meadville Bulldogs backfield still packs a vicious bite.

Facing East in non-conference action on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium, Meadville’s wing-T trio of Ryan Harkness, Trevor Martin and Nathan Martin racked up 339 yards and carried in five touchdowns as the ’Dogs defeated the Warriors 41-30.

“We had a lot of guys step up,” said Meadville head coach Mike Feleppa. “We had some guys playing that were not regular starters. And they stepped up and filled their role. And I’m very proud of them for that.”

The Bulldogs (2-1) had to go without starting halfbacks Artrel Foster and Tim Bolden. Foster is still nursing a knee injury. He did, however, play defense last night and came up with a handful of crunching stops for the ’Dogs and picked off one pass. Feleppa declined to comment on the absence of Bolden, but said he expects him to be back for next week’s game against Warren.

Not that those holes in the offense hurt Meadville much last night. Not with Harkness rushing for 205 yards on 27 carries, Trevor Martin adding 109 yards on 13 carries, and Nathan Martin chipping in eight carries for 25 yards.

“We came in physical,” said Harkness. “We kept at it. We knew it was going to be a tough game without Artrel playing offense. But we stepped up and ran the ball hard.”

Nathan Martin’s numbers weren’t huge, but the sophomore did account for the Bulldogs’ first three touchdowns of the night. MASH opened the contest with a seven-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Nathan going around the right side for a four-yard touchdown plunge.

However, East (1-2) quickly grabbed a 9-7 lead. Meadville stopped the Warriors on a goal line stand, but then gave up a safety on the next play.  And, later, the Warriors made it into the end zone with a 60-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jauwan Ford to Avery Kirksey.

But Meadville took the lead back at the start of the second quarter when Nathan Martin capped off an efficient six-play, 83-yard drive with another four-yard touchdown carry around the right side. A 42-yard pass from quarterback Tyler Minnis to Trevor Martin and a 35-yard rush by Harkness got that drive going.

Foster’s interception on East’s next possession set MASH up at the Warriors’ 39 yard line. Seven plays later, Minnis hit the younger Martin brother on an eight-yard pass for 6 more points. Meadville now led 21-9.

“Trevor’s younger brother stepped up and did a heck of a job,” Feleppa said. “He had three touchdowns tonight. Sophomore. He did a great job.”

Trevor Martin and Harkness would get their turn to score in the second half. Trevor broke off a brilliant 28-yard touchdown haul, busting through tackles on his way to the house to put Meadville ahead 28-15 halfway through the third quarter.

Harkness added a two-yard touchdown trot early in the fourth that made it a 35-15 Bulldogs advantage.

And with two minutes to play, Harkness put the finishing touch on a seven-play, 60-yard drive, spinning out of the arms of a couple would-be tacklers on his way to a 16-yard score.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of Ryan Harkness,” said Feleppa. “He comes to practice and works hard. He comes to football games and works hard. He does what he’s coached to do. Just a hard-nosed player.”

The only thing that kept the game from turning into a blowout was East’s passing attack. Ford completed 11 of 16 passes for 253 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including that 60-yarder to Kirksey in the first quarter and a 78-yarder to Kirksey that put the final points on the board in the fourth quarter.

Ford also rushed for a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth.

East scored its other touchdown on a 60-yard interception return by Willie Horn late in the second quarter.

The Warriors were held to just 53 yards rushing.  

“I think we were finally physical and played the game the way we need to play it,” said Feleppa. “We were physical on offense and we were physical on defense. We had some breakdowns on defense. We got beat on some routes. We’ve got to correct those things. … But as far as stopping the run I thought we did a much better job. I thought we did a much better job of team tackling as well.”