All of the Southeastern Panthers points came in the first half Friday, in a 35-6 season opening blow-out of the Northwest Mohawks. The (1-0) Panthers scored on each of their first four possessions, plus (0-1) Northwest's second possession on a pick-six by Lane Ruby.
Ruby finished with two TD's, but had a few more called back due to Southeastern penalties, which might have been the Panthers only problem of the night. SE was flagged 11 times for 100 yards.
But, the night was a success as Southeastern compiled 253 total yards, with 236 of those on the ground. Dakota Houser was the game's leading rusher, running for 92 yards on 14 carries and scored three touchdowns, on runs of 17, 4 and 14 yards.
The Panthers' defense was the other star of the game, holding the Mohawks to 12 rushing yards and a total of 74 yards for the game. They also forced five turnovers, where SE committed only two.
Northwest's only score came late in the game, when the Panthers left them with a short field after failing on a fourth down at their own 20. Northwest scored three plays later at 6:54 left the game.
Southeastern scored 21 points in the first quarter and were up 35-0 at halftime. The Panthers got the scoring started at 9:02 left in the first period on a 2-yard run by Lane Ruby, capping a 36-yard drive in 5 plays. That drive was set up by Trey Brown's interception. The PAT kick failed, leaving SE with a 6-0 lead.
The Panthers made it 14-0 at 6:18 of the first quarter, when Ruby went 56-yards on an interception return. The two-point conversion was converted on a run by Carson Stauffer.
Southeastern went up 21-0 at 1:50 of the opening period when Dakota Houser ran 19-yards for a TD, capping a 39 yard scoring drive. Andrew Lennox converted the PAT kick.
The score went to 28-0 when Houser ran 4-yards for his second TD at 9:19 left in the half, followed by Lennox' PAT. That drive was the longest of the night at 66-yards on 11 plays.
SE finished their scoring at 7:55 of the second quarter when Houser dashed 14-yards for a score, making it 35-0. That drive was 40-yards on 3 plays.
The Panthers, who opened with a (3-0) start last season before finishing at (6-4), head to Clark Southeastern next Friday night.