By Justin Graves

Justin@athensnews-courier.com

TANNER – Going into the season opener, both Tanner coach LaRon White and Clements coach Forrest Williams emphasized the importance of establishing their running games early. The Rattlers’ offense rose to the occasion, accumulating 156 yards on the ground in their 28-6 win over the Colts in the season opener.

“The big question for us was if we were going to be able to get the same production we got last year from our running game this year,” White said. “I think we answered that tonight.”

Senior Tim Mason accounted for the majority of offense with 78-yards rushing, 57-yards receiving and two touchdowns.

The Rattlers set the tone early. Clements drove within the five-yard line in its first offensive series, but had the drive come up short when Jesse Cobb lost a fumble in the endzone. On the ensuing drive, Jaquise Peoples capped off an 80-yard Tanner drive with a three-yard touchdown run up the middle. George Adams made the extra point to give the Rattlers a 7-0 lead.

“It hurt when we turned the ball over in the endzone,” Williams said. “That’s something we can’t have happen. We have to eliminate turnovers.”

Turnovers come back to bite the Colts again in the second quarter. After Cobb lost a fumble on the Clements’ 30, Mason broke a couple big plays that was capped off by a 30-yard touchdown. Adams made the extra point.

“Our defense came up big for us tonight,” Williams said. “We had guys swarming around the ball and making plays all night. Everyone did a good job of getting to the football and we created a few turnovers. That’s the type of effort we needed.”

The Rattlers struck again late in the first half when quarterback Demarcus King hit Mason on a screen pass for a 22-yard touchdown. Adams made the extra point to give Tanner a 21-0 lead going into halftime.

Clements showed signs of life in the second half. On the second play of the half, quarterback Cody Arnold hit Seth Bachelor on a fade for a 19-yard gain, putting the Colts in scoring position. On the next play, Arnold found Josh Cooper open in the endzone for a 39-yard touchdown pass. Cooper’s extra point attempt was blocked.

“We made some good plays in the second half,” Williams said. “We moved the ball pretty good and were in position to put some points on the board.

“We still did some things wrong, but we’re going to work on fixing the problems this week.”

Clements maintained the momentum when Jeremy Craig intercepted King on the 50, but two plays later Rod Byrd intercepted an Arnold pass and returned the ball to the Clements 40. Peoples ended the drive with a four-yard touchdown run.

“Our defense rose to the occasion,” Byrd said. “Our defensive line did a good job of putting pressure on the quarterback and that helped us make plays.”