HAMPTON — Sophomore Malik Miller ran for touchdowns of 5, 10 and 37 yards and junior Jaquez Parks tossed touchdown passes of 28 and 40 yards as No. 7 state-ranked Griffin High rallied from a 16-7 halftime deficit to top Dutchtown 42-16 Friday in the season opener.

It marked the second year in a row the Bears rallied from a second-half deficit against the Bulldogs as Griffin upped its record in the all-time series between the two schools to 5-0.

“We stunk it up in the first half,” said Bears head coach Steve DeVoursney. “We were out-coached, out-played — out-everything. The good thing is at least in the second half the kids came back.”

And once again, the man leading the charge was Parks.

Parks, who ended the night with 197 yards on 12-of-28 passing and only one interception, ended his team’s first drive in the second half on a 40-yard bomb to sophomore Quay Mangham — the game’s leading receiver with four receptions for 117 yards — as Griffin got to within two of the Bulldogs, 16-14, after the extra point.

Griffin’s special teams then got in on the act, forcing the punter on a botched snap deep in his zone to punt it out of the back of the end zone for a safety to tie the game 16-all with 6:28 to play in the third.

Parks then tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Christian Owens to give Griffin a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the night, thanks in part to a defense that shut the Bulldogs out in the second half.

Then Griffin’s offense took off, posting its second score in 4:33 on a 37-yard touchdown run by Miller with 3:09 left in the third quarter after classmate Montavious Brown recovered an onside kick to start the two-play drive that seemed to quell any comeback attempt Dutchtown might have in mind as the Bears took a 29-16 lead.

Griffin then put the game away for good on Miller’s third and final touchdown run of the night from 6 yards out on the Bears first possession of the fourth quarter. With backups in, the Bears then ended their next and final possession of the night on a 5-yard run by backup quarterback Anforne' Stroud on fourth-and-goal. It was a drive set up on a fumble recovery by Nic Williams.

Miller ended the night with a game-high 80 yards on eight carries, while junior Devontae Freeman totaled 79 yards on nine carries.