BANCROFT — North Gem was teeming with desire to defeat Grace, which had gotten the best of the Cowboys the last four years.

A fifth straight loss was avoided because the ravenous Cowboys jumped on the Grizzlies early before winning 34-20 Friday in Bancroft.

“We just had a lot of frustration from them beating us all of these years,” said North Gem running back Dylan Low. “We worked hard in the weight room all summer and we just put in time, and I think that’s what helped us.”

The Cowboys were at their best at the start of the matchup, literally not giving up an inch on defense and jumping out to a 20-0 lead 13 minutes into the game.

The first touchdown was on a 33-yard pass quarterback Walker Davids floated over the shoulder of receiver Bridger Jensen.

It was one of two touchdowns for the Davids, who scored on a 2-yard sneak with no time remaining in the first half. After a successful two-point conversation, the lead blossomed to 28-12.

In the game, the junior had assistance in the backfield from Dylan Low, who had two 20-plus yard rushing touchdowns and compiled 95 yards on the ground. His last run into the end zone put Grace away

Low received a halfback toss to his left before making a sharp cut right to score a 39-yard touchdown with 3:40 left in the third quarter.

The victory that was eventually secured was the first under coach Dana Strong for North Gem. The first-year coach was pleased with what his new players showed him.

“What it indicates is that these kids are serious about winning. They’re serious about what we’re trying to do here,” Strong said. “We have a very smart team and an experienced team.”

He matched wits with another first-year coach in Grace’s Brandon Sanchez. Against the Cowboys, Grace was always on the cusp of completing a successful comeback, but failed to take the last step in the process.

“You get a team on their home field like this and you get down early, it’s very difficult to bounce back.” Sanchez said. “They caught us in a hole and we were battling back the whole game.”

The Grizzlies had -1 yards of total offense in the first quarter. The moment Grace’s quarterback stuffed the ball into the gut of his running back, a defender was there to make the tackle.

Second-string quarterback Chaysen Ostler started the game for the Grizzlies for Paycen Jensen. The senior caught a rhythm by the third quarter when he brought the deficit within 28-20 on a 73-yard touchown run with 7:15 left in the third. But a tackle from behind later in the quarter caused an injury that forced him to sit out the rest of the matchup.

Grace looks (0-1) look to rebound when it hosts Rockland on Friday, while North Gem (1-0) travels to Carey on the same day.

NORTH GEM 34, GRACE 20

Grace 0 12 8 0 — 20

North Gem 14 14 6 0 — 34

First quarter

N — 33 yard catch by Bridger Jensen from Walker Davids ( Dallin Lloyd pass from Davids) 5:48

N — 43 yard run by Dallin Lloyd (Run fail), 1:25

Second quarter

N — 25 yard run by Dylan Low (Run fail), 11:31

G — 45 yard run by Efrain Velazquez (Stone missed PAT), 9:24

G — 31 yard run by Velazquez (Run fail), 1:16

N — 2 yard run by Davids (Low run converted), 0:00

Third quarter 

G — 73 yard run by Chaysen Ostler (Aufdemorte run converted), 7:15

N — 39 yard run by Dylan Low (Run fail), 3:40

Rushing: North Gem: Dylan Low 16-95, Walker Davids 8-31, Tyler Perkins 11-70, Bridger Jensen 2-11, Dallin Lloyd 2-33. Grace: Tyler Mansfield 12-2, Efrain Valazquez 12-94, Lincoln Skinner 3-8, Chaysen Ostler 4-75, Raymond Stone 1-(-2), Talon Nance 2-3.

Receiving: North Gem: Jensen 4-45, Low 2-(-3), Perkins 1-16. Grace: Nance 1-24.

Passing: North Gem: Walker Davids 7-14-58-0-1. Grace: Ostler: 2-4-22-0-0, Stone: 0-2-0-0-1, Mansfield 0-1-0-0-0.

North Gem ends 4-game losing streak against Grace, defeating Grizzlies 34-20. #idpreps pic.twitter.com/HNVto8UXMe

— Jeff Papworth (@JeffPapworth) August 29, 2015