Fultondale running back Brandon Lewis picked up his game pretty much where he left off.

And it’s a good thing that he did, because the Tarrant team that came to play Friday night was nothing like the one Fultondale manhandled in the jamboree game last year.

Lewis ran for four touchdowns and caught a pass from freshman quarterback James Gowdy for another, as Fultondale defeated Tarrant 52-31 in Friday night’s season opener.

It was a game that ended exactly four hours after it began, due in parge part to injuries — lots of stoppages for minor ones, but two lengthy delays for more serious injuries. Fultondale’s Brandon Thomas broke his leg at the end of the first quarter, and is out for the season, while Tarrant’s Derrico Gaines suffered a neck injury that resulted in a half-hour delay and a trip out of the stadium in an ambulance. His condition was unclear at game’s end, but not expected to be serious.

This edition of the Wildcat Bowl was played at Fultondale, but technically was a home game for Tarrant. Coach Eric Johnson’s team will play its home games at Fultondale this season and next, due to construction on Tarrant’s old field.

Tarrant, which dropped from Class 3A to 2A this seaosn while Fultondale went in the opposite direction, gave coach Richie Busby’s Fultondale squad all they could handle, and had the game tied at 24-24 at halftime.

Tarrant opened the Cat Fight with a score on their opening drive, as they started in good field position thanks to a 38-yard kickoff return by Da’Monta Brooks. Six plays later, he had the ball again, charging six yards up the middle for the score. His point-after kick was short.

Lewis answered on Fultondale’s first possession, carrying the ball on five out of eight plays with a 3-yard touchdown at the end.

While Lewis racked up the big numbers for the game — 192 yards on 16 ruashes, and 75 yards on two pass receptions — it was Lovell Jordan who pounded out a lot of the short-yardage plays. He was rewarded on Fultondale’s second possession with a 10-yard scoring run.

Brooks came through again for Tarrant, this time scoring on a 57-yard breakaway. His 2-point conversion attempt was stopped, leaving Tarrant down by a 14-12 score.

Fultondale wasted little time in responding, as the subsequent drive lasted just three plays, thanks to Lewis’ 69-yard touchdown reception from Gowdy.

But it was Brooks with the response again, breaking again for a 59-yard touchdown dash. the conversion failed again.

Both sides finally came up empty on their next drives, and Fultondale was stopped again late in the second period at the Tarrant 10-yard line. But sure-footed kicker Enruique Aguilar — who was perfect on all of his extra points, and who put kickoffs into the end zone on all but two tries — kicked a 37-yard field goal that would have been good from 50. That gave Fultondale a 24-18 lead with 91 seconds before the break.

Tarranr was quick to answer yet again, as on the second play of the next drive, quarterback Deuntra Head connected with Jawuan Dowdell on a 73-yard touchdown pass. Brooks’ point after was wide, leaving the score tied going into intermission.

Fultondale was the dominant team in the second half, thanks in large part to Lewis. He scored touchdowns on the first two possessions on runs of 23 and 15 yards.

Tarrant got one score back when Head threw  a 51-yard touchdown toss to Devonte Franklin, but Fultondale immediately answered with an 80-yard kickoff return for a score by Derrick Houston.

Lewis put the finishing touch on the game with a 35-yard touchdown with 4:53 left, coming immediatekly after the long injury timeout to tend to Gaines. Lewis ran every play but one on the final possesion.

Fultondale coach Richie Busby had nothing but praise for Lewis and Jordan.

“He [Lewis] just a really good high school back, who’s shifty; if you miss him and he gets an open field, you’re going to have trouble catching him. Lovell had some big carries that moved the chains several times. He’s a workhorse,” Busby said.

Even Johnson was taken a bit by surprise by his team’s effort, and couldn’t hold back a little smile despite the loss.

“We have some missing parts, and we expect to get them back next week, but I am just so proud of the guys. God had it in His plan. He opened all of our eyes tonight to some things that are going to be pretty good going on through the season.”

Busby was similarly impressed with Tarrant.

“I know it’s hard coming from the coach of the team that just beat them, but they’re going to be a good football team,” he said. “If they just stick together and get a little success, they’ll do well. We were in their shoes years ago.”

It’s the first time that Fultondale has defeated Tarrant since 1991, which ended in a 27-17 score. Since that time, Tarrant has won eight straight games. The two schools, which are now located about a mile apart as the crow flies, haven’t played in a game that counts since 2003.

Fultondale faces a tough outing at home next week against Fairfield, while Tarrant plays at Woodlawn — a team they haven’t faced since 1987.