The Haughton Bucs opened the season with a 42-30 victory over the Homer Pelicans Friday night at Prescott Field.
Haughton avenged a 36-34 loss to the Pelicans in last year’s opener.
“We just kind of survived,” Haughton third-year Head Coach Matthew Sewell said. “It was kind of a war of attrition out there. Both teams were were tired and getting winded. We’ve been pumping those guys with liquid IV all week and giving them Gatorade and hydrating them and it’s just hot out there.
“So I was glad we were able to put enough pieces together to kind of survive And we had a chance to pull away a few times and just never quite did, but I’m proud of those guys for hanging in there. And it’s probably a game we lose last year. So I was proud of those guys for for finding a way to win.”
The Bucs got solid performances on offense from their three veteran seniors — quarterback Taylor Weathersby, running back/receiver Brandon Craig and receiver Ethan Johnson.
Weathersby completed 11-of-15 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Craig rushed for 206 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns. Johnson caught five passes for 88 yards.
But Sewell was glad to see some others step up.
Junior CT Woodard caught his first career touchdown pass. Senior Case Corkern, a returning starter, also caught a TD pass.
“(Junior running back) Nolan Simmons was big for us tonight,” he said. “He was on the freshman team, but didn’t even hardly play as a freshman. He stepped up when Brandon was was getting tired, and he just had a wonderful night running the football and gave us a lot of depth in the backfield tonight. I thought he had a huge game.”
Simmons rushed for 50 yards on 10 carries and scored a touchdown.
The Bucs defense also made some plays. Junior Greyson Johnson had an interception. Senior Xaveria McDuffy forced a fumble. Senior Colton Bedgood had a big tackle for loss on second-and-goal late in the first half. Isaac Jennings had a sack on fourth-and-goal.
“We definitely got some stops when we needed to,” Sewell said. “We gave up some points tonight and we gave up too many big plays and we had a couple of back breaking penalties, but I thought when we needed to get stops, we got stops.”
Haughton hosts Southwood Friday. The Cowboys fell to Green Oaks 44-0 in their opener.