WHITWELL, Tenn. - Sloppy conditions led to several mistakes in Whitwell's football season opener Friday night against Boyd-Buchanan, but the host Tigers were able to hit their stride and cruise to a dominating 51-6 victory.
The score was 44-0 at halftime, and the running-clock rule went into effect in the third quarter.
Whitwell took only six plays to score. Hunter Ashworth ran 45 yards for a touchdown with 8:53 to go in the third quarter, and he ran for a two-point conversion to put the Tigers up 8-0.
Shortly after that, lightning forced the officials to delay the rest of the game for an hour and 12 minutes.
Mistakes started to pile up quickly when play resumed. Both teams lost two fumbles in the first quarter, and there was no more scoring in the period.
Whitwell's offense erupted in the second.
Hudson Petty scored with just 15 seconds off the clock in the quarter and added the two-point conversion for a 16-0 lead, and he scored on a 58-yard punt return with six minutes left.
Ashworth, Jaron Thames and Cole Burns added scores for the 44-0 advantage, and Burns ran for a 52-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Preston Edmonson scored for the Buccaneers from 7 yards out late in the fourth quarter.
Whitwell coach Randall Boldin said the weather "took out a lot of stuff we tried to do on offense. It was hard to get a hand on the ball and take care of it. We like to throw it around a little more, but we couldn't because of the weather.
"Our kids came out and played hard. They battled. We got a lot of kids rolled in during the game. I think we used every kid on the team tonight.
"Our offensive line continues to jell. As a coaching staff we are proud of our kids the way they battled. It was a different style of game for our team, which is good because we might see (these conditions) down the road in a tight ballgame."
Contact Brett King at sports@timesfreepress.com.