Red Bud outscored Pinckneyville 26-0 in the second half to coast to a 40-0 win Friday night in the football season opener for both squads.
The Musketeers scored single touchdowns in each of the first two quarters for a 14-0 advantage before pulling away in the second half.
“Early on, we were giving up too many yards on the ground, but we did a good job of adapting,” said Red Bud coach Dave Lucht. “Overall, I am pretty happy with the outcome. I think our conditioning and our depth was the difference in the second half. We looked fresh in the second half, and I think our depth just wore them down. For the first game of the season, I think we played smart and efficiently.”
Tyler Henry got the scoring started, as he pulled down a 31-yard touchdown pass from Jake Hoffman with just 46 seconds left in the first quarter. Kevin Crafton added the extra point to give the Musketeers a 7-0 lead.
Red Bud struck again with 4:26 remaining in the first half, as Tyler Hubert scored on a 23-yard touchdown run. Crafton added the extra point, and the Musketeers held a 14-0 lead at the break.
The second half was all Red Bud, as the Musketeers scored two touchdowns in each of the final two quarters for the 40-point win.
Henry brought down a 37-yard pass from Hoffman for his second touchdown reception of the game early in the third quarter. Crafton added the extra point, and the Musketeers were up 21-0 with just 32 seconds gone by in the second half.
“Tyler Henry played extremely well for us,” said Lucht. “His two touchdown catches were huge, and he played well on the defensive side of the ball, as well. His performance really stood out.”
Nearly eight minutes later, Hoffman scored from eight yards out as the lead increased to 27-0.
Tyler Magruder added a couple of scores in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring, a 24-yard touchdown run and a 35-yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown.
“Red Bud is a very good team, and two minutes into the second half, we had 10 starters on the sideline due to suspensions and injuries,” said Pinckneyville coach Tod Rushing. “I was pleased with our defense early on. Our offensive line also did a good job of moving the ball in the first half. But against a team like Red Bud, you can’t have any mistakes. They are going to win a lot of football games this season.”
The Musketeers finished with 354 yards of total offense, as the rushing attack picked up 217 yards and the passing game finished with 137 yards.
Hubert led the rushing attack with 97 yards on seven carries. Alex Phegley added 53 yards on three attempts, and Magruder finished with 33 yards on two runs.
Hoffman completed 7-of-14 passes for 133 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Henry caught three passes for 91 yards with two touchdowns to lead the receivers.
The Pinckneyville offense was paced by Neil Kellerman, who ran the ball 13 times for 90 yards.
Red Bud (1-0) will host Wesclin (1-0) Friday night while Pinckneyville (0-1) will ttake on West Frankfort (0-1) at home.