NEW TAZEWELL-The Cosby Eagles came to play, but the Claiborne Bulldogs had other ideas.

The Eagles started their 2010 campaign on the road at the Dog Pound in New Tazewell Friday night, and came up on the losing end of a 26-0 score.

The 1A Eagles moved up three classes to tangle with the 4A Bulldogs, but it was more than just a big difference in classification. The Bulldogs are coming off a stellar 8-3 season, and returned 14 starters, six on offense and eight on defense.

The Bulldog offense, led by highly mobile quarterback Cody Malone and senior running back Aaron Noe, gave the Cosby defense fits all night long, while the experienced and strong Bulldog defense gave the Eagle defense practically nothing through all four quarters.

"We just didn't have an answer for their size and physicality," said Eagles' head coach Tyler Shelton. "They dominated us at the line of scrimmage. We scrimmaged against some good teams prior to the start of the season, but we didn't see a team no where near like the team we faced on the field tonight."

The Bulldogs took control of this one early and never looked back, even though they had two touchdowns called back because of penalty in the first quarter. The Bulldogs also controlled time of possession throughout as the Eagle offense only saw the ball on three possessions in the first half, and only three in the second half.

The Bulldogs received the opening kick to start the game, and methodically moved the ball deep into Eagle territory. They eventually punched it into the end zone, but the score was wiped off the scoreboard after the Bulldogs were whistled for blocking below the waste. The Eagle defense stood their ground, and forced the Bulldogs to give up the football.

The second possession for the Bulldogs was a different story. Even with another touchdown called back on an illegal possession penalty, the Bulldogs managed to overcome it, capping a 55-yard drive on a 25-yard run by Jacob Krieger. The extra point attempt failed, but the Bulldogs were off and running 6-0.

The Bulldogs found success on their next possession as well, this time driving 73 yards. The drive ended in the end zone on a 29-yard pass from Malone to Jacob Standifer. The Bulldogs went for two and made it, giving them a 14-0 advantage at the break.

The Bulldogs kept the offensive momentum through the third quarter with Aaron Noe capping a 59-yard drive with a three-yard run to make it 20-0, and finished their scoring on the very next possession on a 21-yard TD pass from Malone to Austin Neely.

While the Bulldogs were going about their business, the Eagle offense struggled.

"We couldn't get anything going," said coach Shelton. "But you've got to hand it to Claiborne, they had a good game play. They focused on Robert (Herzog) knowing all of the things he is capable of."

Although the Eagles were unable to get the ball rolling offensively, Herzog did manage a big kickoff return of 74 yards to the Claiborne 16 late in the second quarter, but it was called back because of a Cosby penalty.

Despite the 26-0 loss, coach Shelton found plenty of positives.

"I think we were better against them than last season," said coach Shelton. "We actually played them pretty straight up through the first quarter. And, we didn't have any turnovers tonight, not one. We also had opportunities. We were in a position to force several turnovers. If you look at both of their touchdown passes, we were right there on them defensively. It just didn't go our way."

Throughout the second half, the Eagles kept on fighting. The heat, however, was beginning to take its toll on the Bulldogs.

"There is no team that will be in better shape than we are," said coach Shelton. "We preach it to our kids, and we practice it every day. Our players carry water with them all day long. While the Claiborne players kept going down through the second half, our guys, who play both ways, were still playing. That's a testament to our training."

The Cosby coaches saw areas that need to be fixed.

"Our offensive line play must improve," said coach Shelton. "We have to give our skill position guys a chance to make plays, and we're not there yet. But, as coaches, we'll continue to keep our guys positive and optimistic. This is only the first game. It's done. Forget about it and start focusing on Gatlinburg. We've got to stay focused and move ahead.

"The bottom line is we got better tonight," said coach Shelton. "And we're looking forward to playing Gatlinburg-Pittman next week. Our next three games are at home, so we're expecting a packed house next Friday night. I can guarantee you we're going to be physical with G-P, we're going to make them beat us. We think it's going to be a good game.