MOSS BLUFF — Senior running back Drew Bailey had the biggest night of his career on his birth Friday in the Sam Houston Broncos’ season opener.

Bailey rushed for 310 yards and six touchdowns on 32 carries to lead the Broncos to a 56-41 win over Leesville.

“I couldn’t have done it without my big O-line,” Bailey said. “They’ve come so far through this season, and I mean, I really can’t do it without them. All praise to God, man.

“As ya’ll know, we have a lot of young starters, but they’ve really come together as a team and they’ve really come together as a unit, and I mean, I couldn’t ask for more. Hey, it’s a great feeling, man. 1-0, there’s no better feeling in the world.”

Bailey scored on runs of 17, 33, 4, 36, 47 and 5 yards. At one point he scored on three consecutive touches, including the 47-yarder that put the Broncos up 49-26 with 2:53 left in the third quarter, faking out several defenders on his way to the end zone.

“You have to give to those guys up front,” Sam Houston head coach Chad Davis said. “Those guys up front controlled the line of scrimmage all night.

“We were concerned about two of their guys on the front, and we did a really good job upfront. Drew was able to obviously take advantage of it, so I am proud of those guys.”

Sam Houston’s offense racked up 568 yards of total offense, but Bailey wasn’t the only one tearing up the artificial turf at Wayne Hooper Memorial Stadium.

Leesville’s Xavier Ford, coming off back-to-back 2,000-yard seasons, ran for 311 yards and six touchdowns on 40 carries. Ford erased the Broncos’ three-possession lead with an 18-yard score with 20 seconds left in the third quarter and a 33-yarder after a Bronco turnover with 9:52 left in the fourth quarter. That cut Sam Houston’s lead to 49-41, but Bailey gave the Broncos some breathing room, 56-41 with a 5-yard touchdown 6:06 left in the game.

“I am ecstatic for these guys,” Davis said. “That was a very quality opponent right there.

“The message all week has been don’t let them (Leesville) have any confidence because if they get a little bit, they are going to take a lot. They punched us in the mouth a few times, but we responded offensively and took it back down. So I was proud of them for that.”

Leesville marched 57 yards on 10 plays to the Bronco 8-yard line, but Ford was stopped cold on fourth-and-two with 3:23 left in the game by Connor Walker, Hunter Dautriel and J’sonte Duhon.

“We came up with a huge stop,” Davis said. “That is one great running back (Ford) right there.

“For us to keep him from gaining three right there on a fourth down was huge.”

Sam Houston quarterback Gavin Stout completed 22 of 28 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns. Drew Dronet caught six passes for 76 yards and one score.