Its 229-yard passing game got Carey going and its 255-yard running game got oiled up in the second half of Friday's 50-22 Panther road victory over the Hagerman Pirates.
Carey (1-0) came out of the season-opening eight-man football game with a good feeling, going into a bye week. The next Panther game is the home opener Sept. 9 with Shoshone.
Senior quarterback Tyler Cook (16-for-25 for 211 yards, no interceptions) threw for three touchdowns and three conversions while running for one touchdown and one two-pointer. Meanwhile, Tadd Green and Cody Baird each scored twice.
Baird, a junior, rushed 10 times for 124 yards and sophomore running back Connor Rivera added 64 yards rushing. Carey's defense came up with four turnovers and special teams produced one touchdown.
Carey coach Lane Kirkland said, "It was a great way to get started on the season—balanced passing and rushing, and a defense that was solid all day and helped our offense put 50 points on the board."
Kirkland added, "We came out throwing and scored on our first play with a pass across the middle. Although we were outsized 40 to 50 pounds on the line, the kids worked really hard to give Tyler some time."
The Carey interior line featured center Jesus Ocampo, a junior, plus left guard Devin Simpson and right guard Ben Neilson, both seniors.
Scoring passes from Cook to Brad Hunt and Bryan Hill, plus a little razzle-dazzle TD pass from Hunt to Tadd Green, helped Carey to a 30-8 half-time lead. The Panthers made three of four conversions in the first half on passes thrown by Cook.
"Even though our offense got 30 points in the first half, I credit much of it to the defense. That's because we stopped Hagerman on several fourth-down attempts to give us another chance with the ball. The defense played well," Kirkland said.
He added, "We weren't able to run until the second half—when we got Hagerman back on its heels. We got some double teams going and started punching the ball through."
Baird padded the lead with a pair of second-half touchdowns, one on an 80-yard kickoff return. Kirkland said, "We had only one turnover and everything else clicked well. And we had only 30 yards in penalties.
"I'm excited about the rest of the season."
Carey had a good day all around, because its junior varsity blanked Hagerman 32-0 earlier Friday. Sophomore Blake Whitby rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Heith Adamson (94 yards rushing) and sophomore D.J. Simpson (21 yards) also scored TDs.
Behind the center, quarterback D.J. Simpson completed six passes for 79 yards, with Scott Ellsworth nabbing two passes for 40 yards. The Carey JV hosts Oakley Thursday, Sept. 1 at 3:30 p.m. at Derrick Parke Memorial Field in Carey.
CAREY Line Score
Carey 50, Hagerman 22
CAREY. 14 16 14 6 50
HAGERMAN 8 0 8 6 22
SCORING
1st half
CAREY—Brad Hunt, 40-yard pass from Tyler Cook (Hunt, pass from Cook); (8-0 Carey)
CAREY—Bryan Hill, 10-yard pass from Cook (pass failed); (14-0 Carey)
HAGERMAN—Dusty Vader, 25-yard run (Ryan Jester, pass from Jason Brown); (14-8 Carey)
CAREY—Cook, 6-yard run (Tadd Green, pass from Cook); (22-8 Carey)
CAREY—Green, 18-yard pass from Brad Hunt (Green, pass from Cook); 30-8 Carey)
2nd half
CAREY—Green, 8-yard pass from Cook (run failed); (36-8 Carey)
HAGERMAN—Vader, 1-yard run (Jester, pass from Brown); (36-16 Carey)
CAREY—Cody Baird, 80-yard kickoff return (Cook run); (44-16 Carey)
CAREY—Baird, 33-yard run (run failed); (50-16 Carey)
HAGERMAN—Isidro Nava 3-yard run (run failed); (50-22 Carey)
TOTAL CAREY YARDAGE—255 yards rushing, 229 yards passing for total offense of 484 yards. Defensively: Carey 3 fumble recoveries, 1 interception, 2 sacks.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Carey
Rushing—Cody Baird 10-124, 1 TD; Connor Rivera 11-64; Tyler Cook 5-57, 1 TD, 1 conv.; Nathan Foster 2-7; Blake Whitby 1-3.
Passing—Tyler Cook 16-25, 211 yards, 3 TD; Brad Hunt 1-18, 1 TD.
Receiving—Brad Hunt 6-109, 1 TD, 1 conv.; Tadd Green 6-72, 2 TD, 2 conv.; Cody Baird 3-37; Bryan Hill 1-11, 1 TD.
Interceptions—Brad Hunt 1.
Sacks—Devin Simpson 1, Bryan Hill 1.
Fumble recoveries—Devin Simpson 1, Tyler Cook 1, Brad Hunt 1..
Kickoff returns—Cody Baird 80-yard TD return.
Tackles—Brad Hunt 7 solo/5 assists; Cody Baird 7 solo/7 assists; Allen Peck 2 solo/8 assists; Devin Simpson 2 solo/7 assists; Tyler Cook 5 solo/6 assists; Tadd Green 7 assists; Bryan Hill 1 solo/5 assists; Brian Adamson 3 solo/1 assist; Ben Neilson 1 solo/3 assists; Nathan Foster 2 solo/1 assist; Scott Ellsworth 1 solo.
