In Haynes’ inaugural game at the helm, visiting Centerville spoiled the festivities, scoring on the opening drive and never looking back in a 42-6 rout of the Thunderhawks on Friday night, Aug. 27.
“It’s week one,” Haynes said. “We’ve got nine more to play. We’ve got to watch the film and find out what we did wrong. They’ve got to play better and we’ve got to coach better.”
Behind their patented triple-option offense, the Elks (1-0) piled up 299 yards rushing and five touchdowns, with seniors Jon Overstreet and Tristin Boykin accounting for two apiece.
Overstreet’s scores both came in the first quarter; his 8-yard scamper capped off a 12-play, 79-yard march to begin the game, and moments after an East turnover, he snuck in from 2 yards out.
“It was a great lesson for our kids to learn that you’ve got to lift weights and you’ve got to be in there all year long,” Haynes said. “It was pretty obvious up front that they were dominating us because they were bigger and stronger.”
Centerville took a commanding 28-0 lead into intermission thanks to 211 yards of total offense and two forced turnovers that led to touchdowns.
But the Thunderhawks (0-1) showed some life early in the third quarter and marched all the way down inside the Elks’ 10-yard line. Faced with a fourth-and-2 from the 7, a bad pitch resulted in a touchdown the other way in Brandon Reese’s 75-yard return on the fumble.
“I’m happy with the victory,” Centerville coach Ron Ullery said. “Usually when you have a big lead at halftime, the second half is pretty sloppy. This second half was pretty sloppy, which in a way is a good thing for us. We can easily get their attention when we look at the film.”
Boykin added a 28-yard TD to close out the Elks’ scoring, while sophomore Will Mahone kept East from being shut out with a 20-yard score in the fourth quarter.
“We saw guys that we were competing to the end,” Haynes said, “and that’s what we told them. How we play is not going to be dictated by the scoreboard. We had guys who competed all the way, the whole 48 minutes.”
The Thunderhawks visit Glen Este next Friday, Sept. 3.
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5113 or smatthews@coxohio.com.
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