First-half frenzy

The end zone and the clock were the only things to stop the Smith-Cotton football team in the first half Friday night.

The Tigers scored on their first eight possessions en route to a 56-18 win against Van Horn in a nonconference game at Jennie Jaynes Stadium.

The win puts Smith-Cotton (3-2) above .500 for the first time since the 2005 season opener, when the Tigers beat Parkview 26-0 on Sept. 2, 2005.

“It’s a nice feeling, the problem is we should be 5-0,” Smith-Cotton coach Mark Johnson said. “We’re on a roll, 3-0 and still flying under the radar.”

Friday’s win gives the Tigers (3-2) a three-game winning streak for the first time since 2004, when S-C put two such streaks together during its 7-3 campaign.

Van Horn (1-4) failed to stop the Tigers in the first half, with the Tigers’ only possession without points coming when Drew Hutinger took a knee to send the teams to the locker room.

“I was proud of our offense,” S-C quarterback Bryce Johnson said. “I think we executed all our plays pretty well and ran hard.”

After forcing a three-and-out, the Tigers quickly capitalized on their first possession. S-C gained yardage on each of their seven plays, with Bryce Johnson capping the quick drive with a 1-yard plunge to make it 7-0 with 7:54 left in the first quarter.

Solomon Watkins made sure the S-C offense didn’t have to run a play for its next score. He returned a punt 71 yards for the touchdown in what was easily the most exciting return from an S-C player in the past three seasons.

Solomon Watkins took the ball at his own 29-yard line and broke left. He slipped past a tackle around midfield, then went untouched until a Falcon defender grabbed him around the collar just outside the 20. Solomon Watkins carried the defender for a good 10 yards before shedding the tackle and sprinting the rest of the way for the score.

“I’m thinking, ‘I’ve got to score, I have to score, I have to get this touchdown,’ ” Solomon Watkins said. “I’m going to let the team down (if I don’t score), so I found a way to get him off me and then score.”

The offensive show continued on the Tigers’ next possession. Smith-Cotton moved 55 yards on six plays. Iishmel Watkins gained 16 yards to set the Tigers up with a first down at the 1 and then punched it in on the next play, making it 21-0 with 3:27 left in the opening quarter.

It took just two plays on the Tigers’ next drive. This time, Ethan Warren caught a pass and cut back behind the Van Horn safety to race the rest of the way for a 47-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Johnson.

“Plus it’s homecoming, so it makes it feel all that much better,” Warren said.

Van Horn cut into the deficit when Terrell Certain broke loose for a 46-yard score. The extra point failed and S-C held a 28-6 lead after the first quarter.

The Tigers struck again on the first play from scrimmage in the second quarter. Solomon Watkins broke loose on a run to the left side, going 54 yards for the touchdown and giving the Tigers a 35-6 lead.

Van Horn used a 45-yard touchdown pass from Blaine Hines to Reggie Donahue to briefly cut the deficit to 35-12, but the Tigers scored again on their next possession.

This time, Solomon Watkins had runs of 14 and 35 yards to move the Tigers into scoring position, and Bryce Johnson capped it three plays later with a 2-yard run.

“I can’t really take too much credit for those touchdown rushes because Solomon and Iishmel and Ethan all got them down there, I just punched it in,” Bryce Johnson said. “It’s really them doing the work — and the linemen.”

On their seventh possession of the night, Jordan Brown got into the action with a 20-yard touchdown run. The score made it 49-12 with 3:50 left in the second quarter.

Once more, Smith-Cotton’s offense scored before the end of the first half. Warren capped it with a 21-yard touchdown run and gave the Tigers a 56-12 halftime cushion.

The Tigers got the ball back with 19 seconds left, but took a knee as their only possession without a score.

Smith-Cotton looked deep to its bench for the entire second half and Van Horn’s Jermaine Spikes scored the only touchdown when he got open for a 24-yard touchdown pass from Hines.

The Falcons again missed the extra point, leaving the score at 56-18 with the clock continuing to run in the third quarter. The team’s 56 first-half points is believed to be a school record for points in a half.

Smith-Cotton gained 408 yards in the first half on just 31 plays. Solomon Watkins finished with five carries for 121 yards to lead the Tigers. Bryce Johnson threw for 96 yards, completing 5-of-7 passes. He rushed for two touchdowns and threw another.

“We wanted to show people we can throw the ball,” coach Johnson said. “Down the road, hopefully back some people off and make them defend the pass a little bit so it opens up our running game.”

Smith-Cotton 56, Van Horn 18

Van Horn 6 6 6 0 -- 18

Smith-Cotton 28 28 0 0 -- 56

First Quarter

S-C -- Bryce Johnson 1 run (Nick Tuggle kick), 7:54

S-C -- Solomon Watkins 71 punt return (Tuggle kick), 5:46

S-C -- Iishmel Watkins 1 run (Tuggle kick), 3:27

S-C -- Ethan Warren 47 pass from Johnson (Tuggle kick), 1:04

VH -- Terrell Certain 46 run (kick failed), :04

Second Quarter

S-C -- Solomon Watkins 54 run (Jessica Greer kick), 11:52

VH -- Reggie Donahue 45 pass from Blaine Hines (run failed), 9:33

S-C -- Johnson 2 run (Greer kick), 7:49

S-C -- Jordan Brown 20 run (Greer kick), 3:50

S-C -- Warren 21 run (Greer kick), :41

Third Quarter

VH -- Jermaine Spikes 24 pass from Hines (kick failed), 6:54

Team Statistics

VH S-C

First Downs 12 17

Total Yards 303 431

Rushes-Yards 27-169 38-335

Passing 134 96

Interceptions-Ret. 0-0 1-11

Comp-Att-Int 7-19-1 5-7-0

Sacked-Yards Lost 0-0 0-0

Punts 5-25 2-29.5

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0

Penalties-Yards 5-22 6-45

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Van Horn, Terrell Certain 19-153, Ronnie Tumua 5-12, Blaine Hines 3-4. Smith-Cotton, Solomon Watkins 5-121, Iishmel Watkins 6-57, Ethan Warren 3-55, Jordan Brown 3-44, Ben Frederickson 4-26, Sam Woolery 3-15, Jacob Hayworth 6-10, Bryce Johnson 3-9, Arthur Hartt 4-8, Raymond Arias 1-1.

PASSING -- Van Horn, Blaine Hines 7-19-1 134. Smith-Cotton, Bryce Johnson 5-7-0 96.

RECEIVING -- Van Horn, Reggie Donahue 3-71, Jermaine Spikes 2-42, Phillip Wallace 2-21. Smith-Cotton, Ethan Warren 1-47, Solomon Watkins 2-29, Nick Thompson 1-14, Derik Kinde 1-6.