Ida Baker football coach Brian Conn wasn’t pleased with the way his team performed Friday night in their home opener against winless Port Charlotte.

The Bulldogs were flagged for 13 penalties for 134 yards, the offense was sluggish for most of the game, and when they had a chance to bury the Pirates, the Bulldogs let them up off the mat and back into the game.

It took, of all things, a botched punt with two minutes left in the game to finally throw the Pirates off their back for a 21-7 win.

“The ultimate test was passed. We won. We have to correct the mistakes on offense and defense,” Conn said. “We didn’t do much well. We have to get better.”

With two minutes left and the Bulldogs punting, Trayvon Clarke took a high snap, then took off. The botched punt turned into a 52-yard touchdown run to put the final nail in the Pirates’ coffin.

The Pirates (0-3) played great defense and got enough from their running attack to shorten the game and give them a chance to win.

Trailing 14-0, quarterback Robert Kubond took over. He went right down the Baker sideline for a 60-yard touchdown with 3:52 left to cut the lead in half. After the onside kick failed, Baker (2-1) went three-and-out, setting up Clarke’s heroics.

After a scoreless first quarter, Baker drew first blood when the Pirates muffed a punt that the Bulldogs’ Malik Dixon recovered. Six plays later, quarterback Reece Attwood threw a 14-yard TD pass to flanker Cecil Fitch for a 7-0 lead.

The Baker defense took over, allowing just 157 total yards on the night and 55 through three quarters. They sacked Kubond five times and blocked a punt.

Baker’s offense, meanwhile, kept the Pirates’ offense on the sideline with a 22-play, 70-yard drive that chewed up nine minutes and resulted in a missed field goal.

They cashed in on the next possession with a seven-yard touchdown run by junior fullback Jeremy Betts to make it 14-0.

Kubond ran for 74 yards. Tyler Harless added 33 yards on the ground, with most in the first half.

Attwood completed 11 of 21 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. Betts netted 55 yards rushing to lead the Bulldogs.

“This was a letdown from last week. We have to stop reading the clippings and stop looking at the stats so much,” Conn said.

The Bulldogs (2-1) are idle next week.

Pt. Charlotte 0 0 0 7 – 7

Ida Baker 0 7 0 14 – 21

Second Quarter

IB – Fitch 14 pass from Attwood (Miller kick)

Fourth Quarter

IB – Betts 7 run (Miller kick)

PC – Kubond 60 run (Bakogannis kick)

IB – Clarke 52 run (Miller kick)