Owen Barton saved his best for last for Bagdad and the three-position senior was just what the Sultans needed.

Barton, with just a few carries, tallied once and put the game on ice with his final carry to help Bagdad edge Joseph City 26-20 in a 1A Kickoff Classic game at NAU's Walkup Skydome.

Barton, looking bigger than the 6-foot-2, 200-pounds he's listed at, high-stepped 19 yards for the tiebreaking score with 2:40 to play. The score came three minutes-plus after Joseph City tied it at 20 on a 39-yard TD pass from Cameron Baldwin to BJ Martineau. That completed the Wildcats' rally from a 20-6 third-period deficit. Barton finished with 56 yards on five rushes. Bagdad managed to lead 14-6 at the half despite runnning just 10 plays and four of 24 minutes of possession.

Bagdad's third interception of the game with 1:21 left seemed to end it, but it took a 22-yard run by Barton on fourth down to seal the deal. Bagdad improved to 2-0 while this was Joseph City's season opener.

"Owen's the strongest kid on our team, and we needed him at the end," Bagdad coach Dalton Mills said of his nose guard, center and occasional fullback.

Bagdad also got key contributions from junior running back Carson Jeans (134 yards rushing on 16 carries, including a 53-yard TD run). Safety Kalab Owings picked off two passes for the Sultans, taking one back for a 33-yard TD to open the game's scoring. Owings has five interceptions in two games, according to Mills.

Joseph City was led by senior  running back Latrell Kinlicheenie, who carried 25 times for 92 yards and two TDs.