Published: Aug 27, 2011 01:28 AM
Modified: Aug 27, 2011 09:38 AM
GARNER - Juwan Moye had the big eyes. He also had a big hole to run through, thanks to his Garner Trojans' teammates.
The senior back opened Friday's game with a 65-yard touchdown run, going untouched for a touchdown. The run set the tone for Garner's run-heavy and productive offense in a 29-7 victory over Athens Drive Friday night.
"When the lights come on and your teammates get you a hole like that, it's what you dream about," Moye said. "I feel like every time I touch the ball I can score. I love my line and the way they block."
Moye didn't score every time he touched the ball Friday night but he did on three occasions. He ran for 159 yards on 16 carries and caught three passes covering 43 yards, two of those for touchdowns.
Still, he was quick to heap praise on his teammates and running mates, like fellow backfield mate Demetrius Fairley, who ran for 114 yards himself on 12 carries. On the night, the Trojans' offensive line cleared out enough room for Garner to put up 298 yards on the ground and more than 400 in total offense.
The Trojans' only blemish on the night were their 11 penalties covering 75 yards.
"We had some good drives in the first half but then we hurt ourselves with penalties and mental mistakes on some drives," said Garner coach Nelson Smith, whose team moved to 2-0. "Defensively, we came out after a rough first half, our coaches made some adjustments and I thought we played a lot better in the second half."
Athens Drive (1-1) hurt itself with penalties and mistakes in the first half as well. An intentional grounding call, followed by a foot on the backline of the end zone on a punt attempt led to Garner's early safety. But the Jaguars plugged along, cutting the lead to 16-7 on a 23-yard TD pass from Ben Bowling to Mike Estes with 6:21 to play in the second quarter. West threw for 158 yards (12-for-29) on the night, while Estes totaled 82 yards receiving.
But that was all Athens Drive got the rest of the way. Garner's defense held on fourth-and-11 from the 22 with 58 seconds to play in the half with back-to-back pass breakups by Greg Boseman and Moye to end the drive.
It was a big step of improvement for the young Trojans' secondary, which was one of the few question marks the N&O's second-ranked team had entering this season.
"That's a big thing for us, getting playing experience together," said Moye, who also had a pass break up as part of the defensive secondary. "We made some adjustments at halftime and got back together, finished the game like we can."