GULF SHORES, Ala. — The Gulf Shores Dolphins hosted the fifth-ranked St. Paul’s Episcopal Saints of Mobile Friday night and were dealt a 34-7 homecoming loss.

The Dolphins finished with 104 yards rushing on 24 carries and quarterback Gary Johnston had 80 yards passing while going 5 for 15 on completions with 4 interceptions.

Saints running back Mark Barron ran for 166 yards on 17 carries, while his team finished with a total of 217 rushing yards on 39 carries. St. Paul’s quarterback A.J. McCarron finished with 197 passing yards while going 15 for 22 on completions.

The Saints received the opening kickoff and began their first drive at their own 35-yard line after a fair catch. St. Paul would march down the field scoring a touchdown in 8 plays off a 15-yard pass from McCarron to Destin Hood with 8:21 left in the first quarter.

St. Paul led 7-0 after the successful extra point by Mic Brown and Scott Martin the holder. Gulf Shores began from their own 19-yard line after the kickoff. Johnston’s pass on first down was intercepted, turning the ball over at the Saints 48-yard line. The Saints made their way to the Dolphin 34-yard line in six plays.

Faced with a third down situation, McCarron fumbled and recovered the ball before connecting with Deige Barry for 17 yards to keep the drive alive. Four plays later St. Paul scored off a 10-yard pass from McCarron to Andrew Miller with 3:32 remaining in the opening period.

Gulf Shores started at their own 30-yard line following the ensuing kickoff. Johnston found Bernard Nesbitt good for a pick-up of 8 yards, but lost 2 yards on a second-down scramble and threw an incomplete pass on third, forcing his team to punt. The Cody Rhodes punt gave the Saints possession at their 30-yard line. Barron ran the distance on first down and helped put St. Paul at a 21-0 advantage with 1:29 still remaining in the first quarter.

The Dolphins took over at their own 35-yard line following the kickoff and managed to string together a decent drive. Working their way across midfield into the Saints‚ territory, Johnston led Gulf Shores down to the St. Paul 27-yard line in 8 plays before his second interception of the night, which turned the ball over at the 43. McCarron struck Hood with a 47-yard pass and pushed to the Dolphin 4-yard line with a scamper of 6 yards. Two carries of 3 and 1 by Barron put the ball in the end zone again for the Saints resulting in a 27-0 lead after the extra point attempt was blocked.

Gulf Shores took the ensuing kickoff at their own 20-yard line and managed to reach the St. Paul 3-yard line on a drive fueled by a 61-yard carry by David Rodriguez. Johnston mishandled the snap on second down and the fumbled ball would be recovered by the Saints.

St. Paul’s final score came off a 1-yard carry by Barron that capped a 55-yard drive that took just six plays with 2:43 remaining in the third quarter.

The Dolphins began a drive late in the fourth quarter with hopes of ending the shutout. Gulf Shores began at its own 20-yard line and would only gain 3 yards before electing to punt away. The receiver fumbled the return and Dolphin Nick Leonard managed to fall on top of the loose ball. Gulf Shores continued the revived drive at the St. Paul 35-yard line.

Johnston hit Josh Reeves with an 11-yard pass along the right side line and on the next play found an open Ross Davis for a 24-yard touchdown pass with 1:40 left in the game. Kevin Kelso tacked on the extra point with the hold by Marcus Tino.

The Saints (8-1, 6-1 in 5A Region 1) will host Wilcox Central of Camden, Ala. next week in their final regular season contest. Gulf Shores (4-5, 2-5 in 5A Region 1) hits the road to close out their season against the Mobile Christian School Leopards.