WEIRTON — Oak Glen opened the game with an impressive drive and closed it with an even more impressive drive in the fourth quarter Thursday night at Jimmy Carey Stadium.

Oak Glen won its first game of the season, handing first-year coach Ted Arneault his first win as a head coach, in a 21-19 thriller that spoiled Madonna’s 2016 homecoming.

Arneault turned his all-state senior Dakota Price loose for the first time in four games and he responded with 157 yards on 30 touches. He also caught three passes for 42 yards.

Meanwhile, the Blue Dons scored three times in the second quarter and were very close to winning their first game of the season late in the fourth period, but just couldn’t find a way to finish.

“I’m happy for the kids,” said Arneault when asked how it feels to get that first win. “They came together as a team this week. They were really focused. They knuckled down.

“We really addressed a lot of the things that had been plaguing us the first three weeks. It was an all around team effort. Our offensive line really stepped up. Our offensive coordinator, John Leary, stepped up calling the game. It was a ground and pound strategy and it worked out for us.”

While the Golden Bears ground out a a total of 188 rushing yards, it was the passing game that got them on the board first.

Senior quarterback Lance Collins, who had a big night completing 10 of 13 for 167 yards, caught fellow senior Chase Crago in stride in the middle of the field on a post pattern and the speedy wide receiver gathered it in on the Madonna 25 yard line en route to the end zone.

The Blue Dons caught fire in the second quarter after holding Oak Glen on downs at the Madonna 29. Eleven plays later, senior Tavon Jeter got the ball while on a jet sweep from the slot position and found a hole over right tackle. Slicing through the opening, Jeter with Gavin Dietrich’s kick tied the game at 7-7.

Madonna’s punt return team put the Blue Dons ahead with sophomore speedster Donavan Kirby hauling in a Collin Williams punt at his own 38. He darted straight up the center of the field for 62 yards and the touchdown just 1:26 before halftime. The extra point kick went wide, but the Blue Dons led 13-7.

Dietrich bounced the kickoff right at a Oak Glen defender with an onside kick. The ball was muffed and Vinnie Pulice pounced on the pigskin at the Oak Glen 47 yard line setting up another Blue Don core just 20 seconds after the punt return.

It was Kirby again. He took a handoff and raced up the middle, broke a couple of tackles before he got to the end zone. A pass for the two-point conversion went awry, but the Blue Dons had a 19-7 lead.

Less than a minute later, the Golden Bears responded with a score to narrow the Madonna halftime lead to 19-14.

The Bears put together a quick six-play air raid from their own 34.

Collins completed five straight pass attempts to put the ball at the Madonna four then called his own number and bulled into the end zone with 21 seconds left in the first half. Williams, who was perfect on all three of his extra point boots, drilled the ball through the uprights.

“I thought we moved the ball well at the start of the second half, but had the turnover and lost some momentum, but we were able to pick it up at the end of the game,” first-year Madonna head coach Darrin Hicks said. “We were just a play away from finishing that.

“We talk all the time about being a finisher. We’re two plays away from being 2-2 with this football team.

“It’s a process. We’re learning how to finish. We’re getting closer. I told them after the game I wouldn’t trade this group of young men for anybody in America. I love them to death and I told them we’re just around the corner. We’ve taken a huge step to move forward with this program.”

After a scoreless third quarter, Oak Glen forced a Dietrich punt that Crago returned to his 29. Fourteen plays later with only one of them being a pass, the Golden Bears scored the game winner on a 1-yard dive by Price. It was Price’s first touchdown of the season after leading all area ball carriers in 2015 with 1,770 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Arneault was quick to praise the Oak Glen offensive line.

“Price doesn’t do what he does without the offensive line,” he said. “The offensive line really stepped up. If I could give a most improved player award it goes to the offensive linemen.”

The Price TD came with 4:08 left in the game giving Madonna a chance to put together a game-winning drive of their own. Putting the ball in play at their own 43, the Blue Dons marched to the Oak Glen 12, but a bad snap over Brown’s head while in the shotgun formation put the ball back to the Oak Glen 23.

Brown lofted a third down pass to the left edge of the end zone which Jeter, a Blue Don basketball player the last three years, leaped high to pull down, but was ruled to have returned to the ground with the ball out of bounds.

The Blue Dons came right back with the same play and once again Jeter outfought the Golden Bear defense, but came down out of bounds with 1:27 left in the game.

“Dustin Brown is a great football player and he really impressed me,” Arneault exclaimed. “I know he’s got a great future the rest of the season and I know Madonna has some games they can win in the future so I wish them luck because it is a well coached football team.

“We went four deep there at the end. Jeter is an athlete and I told the kids they needed to jump up and make a play. We did just enough to hold them so I can’t say enough about our secondary stepping up and making a play. Jaden Glenn made the plays with Crago there too.”

Kirby finished with 91 yards on 10 carries and Brown added 54 stripes with 13 carries. Brown completed five of 12 passes for 40 yards.

Madonna gets a mid-season respite from the gridiron wars next week with its bye week while Oak Glen will begin preparations to travel to Vincent, Ohio next Friday to play Warren Local, a first-year member of the OVAC.

Oak Glen 21, Madonna 19

Oak Glen                               7    7  0  7  —  21

Madonna                               0  19  0  0  —  19

OG: Crago 49 from Collins (Williams kick)

M: Jeter 3 run (Dietrich kick)

M: Kirby 62 punt return (kick failed)

M: Kirby 47 run (pass failed)

OG: Price 1 run (Williams kick)

RUSHING: Oak Glen: 49-188 2TD; Price 30-157-TD; Cool 2-(-1); Rowland 4-19; Collins 13-13-TD. Madonna: 36-195-2TD; Kirby 10-91-TD; Hostuttler 10-40; Good 1-4; Jeter 2-6-TD; Brown 13-54.

PASSING: Oak Glen: 10-13-167-TD-INT (all by Collins). Madonna: 5-40 (all by Brown).

RECEIVING: Oak Glen: Crago 6-118-TD; Price 3-42; Travis 1-7.

FIRST DOWNS: Oak Glen 17; Madonna 11.

PENALTIES: Oak Glen 5-50; Madonna 2-20.

FUMBLES-LOST: Oak Glen 1-0; Madonna 1-1.