Indians surge in second half
It took Byhalia a little while to get things in gear Friday night but the end result was convincing.
The Indians stretched an 8-0 halftime lead to a 30-0 season-opening victory at home over O’Bannon.
“We started off slow, a little rusty, I guess since we didn’t play a jamboree,” head coach John Danley said. “But in the second half, we picked it up.”
He said the coaching staff did not have any film to watch on O’Bannon so had to make adjustments as the game went along.
“We made adjustments at halftime, and in the second half, we were able to put it away,” Danley said.
The Indians’ first-half touchdown came on a 17-yard pass from DeQuan Moore to Terrance Davis. Charles Powell carried for the two-point conversion.
The Moore-to-Davis combination struck again in the third, this time from 8 yards out. Jamarius Rooks cashed in the two.
Powell padded Byhalia’s lead in the second half with a 3-yard touchdown run. Zeric Weaver kicked the extra point to make it 23-0.
The Indians’ final score of the night came on an 83-yard sprint to the end zone by Rayderrius Proge. Weaver kicked the extra point.
Coach Danley liked his team’s balance, running and passing, on the offensive side. “That is our purpose and goal – not to be one-sided,” he said. “Of course, our running game is our bread and butter. We have a big offensive line, and we have to run the football to be successful.
“That was O’Bannon’s goal – to stop our running. We have to be more balanced.
“Moore (the quarterback) is the key. He has to stay healthy. He makes our offense so much more versatile.”
The Byhalia defense didn’t allow any points in the first game of the season.
“O’Bannon’s scambling quarterback hurt us some,” he said. “We need to improve on some small things.”
It’s a defense that the head coach says can “be one of the best in the state.”
“We have some guys on defense who can really, really play,” Danley said.
The Indians, moving down from Class 4A to Class 3A this season, are starting the season with four straight home games. Next up is Manassas (Tenn.) this Friday at 7 p.m. The Tigers lost 38-0 to Fairley (Tenn.) last week.
“On a scale of 1 to 10, I will give us a 6 and a half (in week one),” Danley said. “We’re in a tough league (District 2-3A), and we have to keep working hard in practice and improving in each of these non-district games.”
Byhalia will not open district play until week seven of the season when they visit Water Valley, the defending Class 3A state champion.