Senior quarterback Justin Whatley knew it was just a matter oftime before the Loyd Star Hornets found the right gear Thursdaynight in their 2004 season opener at West Lincoln. Whatley brokeloose for three touchdowns and the Hornets produced a strong secondhalf to beat West Lincoln 41-7 on sweat-soaked Perry MillerField.

“We were sloppy the first half,” said Whatley. “We weren’texecuting. Then we got crunked (cranked up) the second half.”

Whatley finished with 138 rushing yards on 8 carries. Hecompleted 1 of 2 passes for 32 yards. He scored on runs of 47, 34and 23 yards. Working out of the shotgun formation, he scrambled 34yards for his second TD. Whatley’s final TD came on a 23-yardscramble around right end as he stiff-armed a defender at the5-yard line.

“I was just running,” said Whatley, a DAILY LEADER Sweet Sixteenselection. “Our offensive line pushed them (defenders) out of theway.

Loyd Star’s Wade Henderson make a successful head coaching debutbut he saw lots of room for improvement.

“We struggled the first half with mental mistakes,” saidHenderson. “We overcame our mistakes but we still have a lot ofwork to do.

“It was hot so our conditioning helped us a lot in the secondhalf,” Henderson added. “We still had some gas left and they (WestLincoln) got tired.”

Henderson got several big plays out of his offense. TailbackGary Johnson got the Hornets rolling with a 32-yard touchdown runwith 7:05 left in the first quarter. The Hornets had taken over atWest Lincoln’s 32 when punter Kyle Lofton was unable to handle alow snap from center.

The Hornets went up 14-0 when Whatley scrambled, cut back andwent 47 yards to paydirt. Whatley connected on 5 of 6 extra pointsin the game.

The Bears trailed 14-0 at halftime. They got on the scoreboardin the third quarter. Freshman tailback Darnell Sampson scored overleft end to climax a 13-play, 79-yard touchdown drive. Adam Casekicked the extra point and it was 14-7.

Sampson, slowed by an leg injury, didn’t play in the fourthquarter. He finished with 19 carries for 123 yards.

The Bears were unable to cash in on a fumble recovery by MarkCase after they moved to the Loyd Star 14-yard line. A series ofpenalties pushed them back to the 32.

West Lincoln quarterback Kevin Lofton was intercepted and LoydStar’s Randy Fells returned it to the Hornet 45. Fullback MichaelBritt broke up the middle for 36 yards and tailback Juron Collinsfollowed with a 14-yard touchdown scamper.

Loyd Star led 21-7 and 2:09 left in the third frame.

Whatley went 34 yards for a TD on the next possession and it was28-7. Britt rumbled 49 yards to paydirt for a 34-7 advantage with6:32 left in the game.

“Our defense was slacking the first half and we gave up too manyyards,” said Britt who starts at middle linebacker. “Our guys had alot of heart in the second half and played hard.”

Britt had 4 carries for 96 yards. Collins gained 66 yards on 5carries.

West Lincoln first-year coach Brooks Burns said his team’s lackof manpower was decisive in the second half. “When we got playershurt, we didn’t have any depth. Fumbles, big plays and penaltieshurt us. We made poor tackles and mental errors.”

Burns said his Bears must continue working hard to improve. “Wecame out strong in the first half and our kids played hard.”

Fullback Casey Roberts followed Sampson with 12 rushes for 40yards. Kevin Lofton had 8 carries for 38 yards.

On defense, the Bears got 6 tackles from Mark Case. PhilipJarancik had 5 tackles and a fumble recovery. Lee Jones intercepteda pass and Cody Warren recovered a fumble.