Lebo made a smooth transition to the 8-man division with a 48-12 victory over Burlingame on Friday night at Lebo.
Although the offense was running on all cylinders, coach Butch Jones credited the defense for stopping Burlingame.
“We were able to shut them down in the first and second quarter and not let their offense get going,” Jones said.
Lebo’s rushing game never stopped, racking up 338 total yards rushing, compared to Burlingame’s 161 yards of total offense.
Despite the strong offensive showing, Jones insisted his team was a defensive-minded squad.
“Our goal is to play defense,” Jones said. “We want to establish a good, sound defense. Trouble is, we don’t know what a good, sound defense is.”
Bryant Linsey led the Wolves’ attack with 193 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown.
Hartford 64,
Chetopa 20
Hartford had no troubles in its season opener, posting the first 42 points of the game in the 44-point blowout at home Friday.
Scott Gardner led the charge, doing a little bit of everything for the Jaguars. The quarterback ran for two scores and passed for two others, directly contributing 28 of the team’s points including two-point conversions.
Receiver Mickey Matthews finished with three touchdowns, adding a 60-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter.
Hartford combined for 312 rushing yards.
“I knew we’d roll pretty good on offense,” Hartford coach Les Stein said, “but our defense looks good, too.”
Osage City 7, Onaga 0
Osage City may not have started out with huge offensive numbers, but the defense got stops where it counted, shutting out Onaga 7-0 Friday night at Osage City.
Tyrell Clark ran in the lone touchdown for the Indians in the first quarter. After that, no one saw the end zone from either side.
Lyndon 34, Pomona 18
Lyndon opened the season by starting its running game, rushing for 294 yards and overcoming Pomona 34-18 Friday night at Lyndon.
Coach Damon Leiss said the strength of his team’s running game was behind a solid offensive line.
The few times Pomona broke through for a score were mostly long gains on passes.
“The plays we gave up were blown coverage,” Leiss said. “We will definitely play better next week.”
Despite holding the advantage most of the game, Leiss said, most of the players continued the intensity throughout the game.
“Nobody let down,” he said. “I’m very impressed by that.”
Madison 50, Centre 8
Behind veteran quarterback Jordan Stout, the Madison Bulldogs overpowered Centre 50-8 on Friday night at Madison.
Stout had 220 yards of offense by himself — 118 passing and 102 rushing. That was more yards than Centre generated as a team.
“He threw the ball well,” Madison assistant coach Barry Schultz said. “There were some first-game jitters. He settled down and threw the ball really well.”
The game started poorly for the Bulldogs. Stout fumbled on the first set, and Centre drove down for a score early in the first quarter.
After that, however, it was all Madison. Stout calmed down and the defense locked up, not allowing much more offense from Centre.
Chase County 32,
Herington 20
Chase County overcame Herington 32-20 Friday night in what looked more like a track meet than a football game.
The Bulldogs’ Brian Palermo rushed for 264 yards, and Herington’s Brian Blackwell rushed for 221 yards.
In the end, Chase County’s offensive line opened up more holes for Palermo.
“The kids we’re playing (on the offensive line) have a lot of varsity experience,” coach Ron Albers said. “There were some holes for him.”
In addition to the rushing yards, Palermo also opened the game with an 85-yard kickoff return for touchdown.
Crest 22, Southern
Coffey County 8
Southern Coffey County took a first-quarter lead but couldn’t muster any offense after that, losing its opener 22-8 to Crest on Friday.
The defeat drops the Titans to 0-1 in Three Rivers League play.
Flinthills 62, Dexter 30
The Flinthills’ offense couldn’t be stopped Friday night, as it rolled up 62 points in a season-opening victory against Dexter.
Mustangs’ receiver Jimmy Michal made his home in the end zone, catching three passes for 70 yards — all of which resulted in touchdowns.
Quarterback Jeremy Jackson was efficient as well, completing 5-of-9 passes for 122 yards and four scores.
Cody Oates led the Flinthills ground game, rushing 20 times for 209 yards and three touchdowns.
The Mustangs racked up 462 combined yards.
Council Grove 41,
Wabaunsee 0
In Friday night’s game, Council Grove took Wabaunsee High, 41-0.
Starting strong, the Braves scored 14 points in the first quarter, remaining ahead at half by a score of 35-0.
In the end, the Braves won out in rushing yards with 262, while Wabaunsee had only 51. Tanner Messer led Council Grove with six carries for 196 yards.
Quarterback Blake Mayer led the Braves with 37 passing yards.
Wabaunsee rushed for 51 yards and ended the game with 54 total yards.
Waverly 67,
Marais des Cygnes 20
The Waverly Bulldogs started their season with a victory in Friday’s game against the Marais des Cygnes Valley Trojans, winning by 47 points.
Waverly’s Matt Coursen started off the first quarter with a 38-yard interception return. Heath Redding followed in the same quarter with a 42-yard touchdown reception from Dentin Chapman.
Coursen led the Bulldogs in rushing with 10 carries for 105 yards. Dakota Foster added nine carries for 94 yards.
Heath Redding paced the Bulldogs with 48 yards receiving.
Marais des Cygnes’ Chisom Spencer led the Trojans in rushing with 22 carries for 160 yards. The Trojans trailed in total yards with 218, compared to Waverly’s 372.