The Caddo Bruins came out in full throttle and never let up, racing to a 45-0 first quarter lead on the way to a 66-18 season-opening gridiron rout at Thackerville last week.
Coach Chad Speer’s unit scored three times defensively and rode a host of explosive plays to the mercy rule decision that ended at halftime.
Action picks up in a big way this week with an old rival invading Bruin Field when the Bruins host two-time defending state champ Dewar at 7 p.m. Friday.
“They are really young and we came out and hit them in the mouth early,” Speer stated.
“A lot of kids played well and we were able to focus on fundamentals. All 28 of our guys got a lot of reps both offensively and defensively. I liked that we were able to score in all facets of the game (offense, defense, special teams). Hopefully this got rid of some of the early butterflies for our less experienced guys.
“We were sloppy at times and had some penalties that we have to get cleaned up. It was good overall and we got out of it with everyone healthy. Jake McKay and Bayler Black were workhorses for us on both sides and Corbin Stoner did a nice job in his first official game at quarterback. It was definitely a positive for us with Dewar coming up this week.”
Although they put 66 points on the scoreboard, the Bruin offense only ran 25 plays for the night while tallying 249 yards. Five of the runs went for touchdowns, they added a pair of receiving scores as well as finding paydirt twice defensively along with a safety.
Stoner completed all three of his pass attempts for 61 yards with McKay grabbing one touchdown on his two grabs for 48 yards. Camarian King also contributed a 13-yard scoring catch. Brantley Carlile also had one grab for 13 yards.
The Bruins spread it around in the running game as Bo Vaughn tallied a team-high 37 yards on four totes. Jake McLaughlin carried five times for 36, Zander Nabors had eight rushes for 36 yards, Stoner ran just once for 35 yards and Black averaged 10.3 yards per carry with three totes for 31.
Defensive stats were also limited in the shortened affair. McKay picked off two passes and returned one for a touchdown. Nabors also had a pick six.
Lucas Rowland tallied six tackles, Black had five, Brance Gray posted four and Cason Hull had three stops. Carlile recovered a fumble for Caddo’s fourth takeaway.
Coach Speer also was encouraged by the rehab of standout junior Jase Counce, who is expected to return early and play in this week’s early showdown with a Dewar squad that will be playing its first game of the season. The Dragons won a 34-32 thriller at Caddo in the final week of the regular season last year to claim the district crown.
“Counce is going to play some on the offensive and defensive line this week,” Speer added. “That gives us some flexibility. He attacked his rehab and has done everything he can and more. He practiced some last week and we are gradually working him back in. It’s the two-time defending state champs so a lot of eyes are going to be on our place Friday night. I feel good about the direction we are heading and hope to put our best foot forward. We scheduled this to get an early measuring stick and see where we are at.
“Dewar is going to try and run the ball. The running back (Joseph Moore) is really good. They have some big boys up front and some good receivers.
“We must limit big plays and make them drive the length of the field. Then on offense try to create big plays and score in chunks. We have been working on some new stuff to throw out against Dewar, especially some different formations offensively. It will be a good atmosphere and fun time.”