With a freshman quarterback making his first start, the Barbe Bucs turned to seasoned junior running back Eric Jones to smooth out the transition.

Jones scored five touchdowns to lead the Bucs to a 35-8 win over crosstown rival LaGrange on Friday at John J. Mims Stadium.

Jones ran for 116 yards and four scores on 12 carries, plus grabbed three passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. He scored on runs of 24, 27, 13 and 11 yards and a 43-yard reception.

“That wasn’t a bad plan,” Barbe head coach Skeet Owens said. “(Jones) is patient on the zones and the gap schemes. He does a great job of waiting for the blocks and reversing, and he can make people miss downfield.”

Jones scored three of his touchdowns in the first quarter as the Bucs built a 21-0 lead.

“It feels good to score but at the same time, like I said, I have to give thanks to my O-line and my quarterback and my coaches for calling the plays,” Jones said.

Freshman quarterback Jelandon Grey was solid in his debut, completing 8 of 14 passes for 146 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Grey started in place of Carson Sanford, who suffered a season-ending injury in last week’s jamboree.

“(Grey) has been working all summer,” Owens said. “He is mature beyond his years. He did a good job of getting us in the right play. We had a few throws that we dropped, but all in all, he did a great job.”

Grey’s first pass was a 23-yard leaping catch by Landon Victorian. On the Bucs’ third series, Gray opened with a 23-yard pass to Luke Leger, and a 43-yard scoring strike to Jones on third down.

Barbe held the Gators to 171 yards of total offense and didn’t allow them to cross midfield until the third quarter.

“Defense did a great job,” Owens said. “They have different sets and different quarterbacks play, so they did a good job of adjusting to all the formations that we saw.”

LaGrange put together its best drive midway through the fourth quarter, going 80-yard on seven plays. Dominick Hollier caught two long-gain passes on the drive from Patrick Bertrand. The first was a 23-yard, and the other was a 32-yard touchdown. He added the 2-point conversion reception and finished with four catches for 55 yards.

Bertrand completed 2 of 3 passes for 55 yards.

LaGrange senior running back Keshaun Doucet ran for 92 yards on 18 carries.

Barbe will jump into District 3-5A play next week with a road trip to Carencro, while LaGrange will host Haughton in a nondistrict game.