A little thunder and flashes of lightning were seen on and off the fields at Youth Sports Inc. Sunday.

While the natural phenomenon occurred early in the morning, the Baldwin Bulldog fourth- and fifth-grade team unveiled their own version of thunder (fullback Bryce Shoemaker), and lightning (running back Skyler Shockley) as they defeated the Lawrence Cougars 12-0.

Shockley struck first, scoring at the 3:10 mark in the first quarter when he found a open hole up the left side of the field, and burned past the Cougar secondary for a 30-yard touchdown run.

It took a little longer for the thunder though as the Cougars and Bulldogs traded possessions with several strong defensive performances.

Bulldog defensive lineman Clay Thomas disrupted the Cougar offensive line by constantly busting through the lines and pressuring Cougar quarterback Jordan Brown. With the Cougars looking to score, Thomas tackled Cougar running back Corbin Schmidt for a loss on consecutive plays. Consequently, the Cougars were forced to punt away in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs methodically worked their way down the field, using up the clock. With 2:08 left in the game, Shoemaker took a hand-off, broke several arm tackles, and barreled his way 15 yards downfield for the insurance touchdown.

“We played a real good game, we showed some good effort and execution,” Bulldog offensive coordinator Kelly Hockey said.

But Hockey said there was plenty of room for improvement.

“We’re going to work on our blocking up the middle and filing the gaps to stop the run,” he said.

But the Bulldog defense did step up late when the Cougars’ Brown tried to put together a late push.

The quarterback scrambled to his right looking for a receiver 10 yards down field. However, Bulldog safety Jack Mitchell got a beautiful jump on the pass, intercepting the throw, retuning the catch 15 yards downfield.

Despite the loss, the Cougars played a strong game. Stephen Robinson played both ways, dishing out several bone-jarring hits at the linebacker position and slashing past Bulldog defenders while playing running back.

Skylar Shockley, Bulldogs running back, takes a handoff Sunday from quarterback Daniel Vineyard at Youth Sports Inc.

Cougar cornerback Will Thompson looked to jump-start the Cougar offense after hauling in an interception during the third quarter, halting a threatening Bulldog possession.

The Cougars utilized Brown as a running and throwing quarterback, hoping to open up the field. Several times Brown called an option-keeper and was able to find daylight looking to rev up the Cougar offense. But in the end the speed and power combination of Shoemaker and Shockley proved to be too much.