East Limestone running back Kollin Swart finds open space against Lee-Huntsville's defense in Thursday night's game. Swart ran for 141 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Indians' 50-28 victory over the Generals.

One week after being shut out and held to fewer than 200 total yards by Mars Hill Bible, East Limestone got its offense going in a 50-28 defeat of Lee-Huntsville in the Indians’ Class 5A, Region 8 opener Thursday night.

The Indians exploded for 36 points in the first half and cruised to victory despite not playing as well in the second half as coach Jeff Pugh would have liked.

“We played well in the first half, but the second half wasn’t very good,” Pugh said. “We got tired, and I tried to put some backups in and they didn’t do a very good job. When we put those guys in, we didn’t get things done and let (Lee) get three touchdowns that made the score look like it was a closer game.”

Fortunately, the way East Limestone played in the first half was plenty good enough to cover up any deficiencies in the second half.

East Limestone’s running game was especially good. The Indians had 421 rushing yards on 42 attempts. East didn’t have to throw the ball much, but when they did, they were effective. Dillon Parris completed three passes for 99 yards with a touchdown. Two of his completions went for 56 and 47 yards.

East opened up a 14-0 lead after the first quarter and broke through with 22 more points in the second quarter to take a 36-6 halftime lead over the Generals.

Jamison Drake started the scoring with a 1-yard run before Kollin Swart scored on a 27-yard run to put the Indians up 14-0.

East put the game away in the second quarter with three more touchdowns and a field goal. Jordan Gardner put the Indians up 20-0 with an 11-yard run, and Swart caught a 56-yard touchdown pass from Parris to make it 26-0.

After Lee scored on a 62-yard touchdown pass from Antony Matthews to Derrick Pitts, East Limestone scored the final 10 points of the first half. Garner scored his second touchdown of the day on an 11-yard run before Syrus James kicked a 35-yard field goal on the final play of the half to give the Indians a 30-point halftime lead.

East looked like it would continue scoring at will when Alex Mason opened the third quarter with a 2-yard run to make the score 43-6. But Lee outscored the Indians 22-7 the remainder of the game, much to the disappointment of Pugh.

“Maybe we relaxed in the second half because we were ahead so far, but that doesn’t matter. You’ve got to keep playing and get better in the second half,” he said. “These younger guys giving us some depth are going to have to play better. That’s something we’re going to have to work on if we’re going to make a run in the region.”

East Limestone’s final touchdown of the game came in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard run by Parris.

Parris finished the game with 99 passing yards and 24 rushing yards. Swart led East with 141 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, and also had 56 receiving yards and a score. Gardner rushed for 92 yards and two scores on nine attempts.

East Limestone (1-1 overall, 1-0 region) continues in region play Friday by hosting Mae Jemison. Pugh hopes his team can put two solid halves of football in against the Jaguars, who he says are a step up in competition from Lee.

“The big things we executed better (Thursday) night,” Pugh said. “When we did play action passing passes, we got touchdowns. When we had opportunities to score, we did score. Hopefully that was us getting better. We’ll find out next week for sure, because we’re playing a good football team.”