Friday night the Salado Eagles got a gauge of how much farther they need to travel.
Hitting storms early on, the Eagles fell behind early and couldn’t stay up with the more polished West Trojans, losing 39-21 in both teams’ season opener at Eagle Stadium.
“We’re a young ballclub and we’ve just got to keep working,” said Salado coach Jeff Cheatham, whose veteran 2008 team won 26-0 at West. “We’re on a journey and this was a tough one for us.”
Although there were flashes of positives, the Eagles got in a 21-0 hole early and simply couldn’t overcome a balanced Trojan team that amassed 518 yards of total offense. The Trojans debuted a new version of their no-huddle offense and they were pleased with the first outing.
“The kids have worked hard to put in this system,” West coach Rick Wolf said. “You have to be in good shape to run this offense. I thought we stayed at a high pace and in the second half stayed focused.”
Salado gained 330 yards of offense, led by sophomore Austin Silva, who rushed for 111 yards with two touchdowns, including a 69-yarder.
It didn’t take long for the Trojans to pounce on the Eagles’ first mistake of the game, turning the ball over on the opening kickoff.
Two plays later, quarterback Kelvin Anthony kept around right end and spun back against the grain to spring free for a 31-yard touchdown scamper. Heath Harris converted his first extra point to make it 7-0 just 49 seconds into the game.
Another big burst put West on top 14-0 as Cody Aycock sprinted 50 yards for a touchdown at the 4:43 mark of the quarter.
The Trojans went 64 yards in five plays, with Anthony connecting on four straight passes, the last after rolling to his right and finding Tyler Angelo in the back corner of the end zone for a 26-yard score and a 21-0 lead.
Salado answered that one immediately with a big play of its own. Silva took an inside handoff and bounced outside before racing the full 69 yards for a touchdown romp. Kelly Jimenez’s point after cut the lead to 21-7 with 7:56 to go in the half.
West put together a well-constructed 82-yard drive at the end of the half, settling for Harris’ 22-yard field goal with 12 seconds left to make it a 24-7 halftime advantage.
Just three plays into the second half, the Trojans snuffed out any designs the Eagles might have had on gaining some momentum by going 69 yards. A 35-yard rush by Aycock set up a 33-yard touchdown on Anthony’s quarterback draw. It was 30-7 at that point and the Trojans made it 36-7 later in the third quarter as Tracer McClinton finished off an 80-yard drive in seven plays by lumbering the final 19 yards for a touchdown.
To their credit, the Eagles didn’t mail in the rest of the game. Silva capped an 81-yard drive on the seventh play by going around right end for a 9-yard touchdown.
Harris posted the Trojans’ final points in the fourth with a booming 41-yard field goal with 8:25 to play to make it 39-14.
Salado capitalized on a West fumble deep in Trojan territory. The Eagles’ Danny Michael recovered the loose ball at the West 11. From there, junior Colton Norman scored on his only carry of the game to account for the final score.
Anthony was an efficient 15-of-19 for 186 yards and rushed for 84. West used sophomore Kolbey Carpenter at quarterback much of the game.
Cheatham said he was impressed with his own quarterback, Cole Brentham, who was 13-of-23 for 89 yards and one interception. He rushed for 51 yards on nine carries.
With Franklin, McGregor and Robinson on the non-district docket, the Eagles understand that the first month of the season will be a test.
“I’m proud of how hard our guys played until the end,” said Cheatham, whose team will play at Franklin next Friday. “We have some things to build on. We’ve got to play those (kinds of teams).”
