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The South Middle School Trojans beat the South Giles Eagles 28-14 at home Tuesday in their opening game of the season.

The Trojans scored the first 22 points of the game and maintained a steady advantage the rest of the way as the program picked up its first victory since 2020.

South head football coach Jermaine Johnson said that his team didn’t play at its best for all four quarters, which will be something to work on before their next game.

“The first half was alright. We got kind of sloppy because we’re tired. We’re out of shape. We’re going to go back and clean some of those things up,” he said. “We’ve got to play four quarters. We can’t just play a half. When we’re up big, we can’t get comfortable.”

The Trojans got on the board early in the first quarter with Odeviyon Poe carrying the ball into the end zone for a rushing touchdown to make it a 6-0 game.

The Trojans struck for another score later in the period as Kaveon Sutton broke off a touchdown run and also scored on the ensuing two-point conversion to put the early lead at 14-0 with 1:17 remaining in the first quarter.

The Eagles turned the ball over on downs on their next possession at their own 33-yard line, but the Trojans weren’t able to move the chains as they gave the ball back to South Giles on another turnover on downs.

However, the Trojans got the ball right back as a fumbled snap was recovered by Ranson Green for a turnover.

The Trojans then brought the ball inside of the opposing 10-yard line, but a few penalties pushed them backward, and they were not able to find the end zone on a fourth-down run as time expired for the first half.

The Trojans led 14-0 at halftime.

The Trojans started the second half with the ball and quickly moved down the field as Jacoba Fells got the ball and ran it in for a touchdown with 4:45 remaining in the third quarter. Poe added a successful two-point conversion run to put the lead at 22-0.

The Eagles quickly responded with a 49-yard touchdown run on the next play from scrimmage to get on the board and to cut the deficit down to 16.

The Eagles then recovered an onside kick to immediately get the ball back, but the Trojans pushed them backwards before an interception grabbed by Wendall Reese gave them the ball in enemy territory.

Jonah Holt powered through multiple defenders and pushed his way into the end zone a few plays later to make it a 22-point game again in the final minute of the third quarter.

The Eagles weren’t completely out of it yet as they converted a fourth down with a long touchdown pass and were successful on the ensuing two-point try to put the score at 28-14 with 5:37 to go.

A South fumble gave the ball right back to the Eagles, but the Trojans stepped up on defense again and forced a turnover on downs at midfield with two minutes remaining.

The Trojans were able to run out the clock from there as they picked up the 14-point victory.

With the win, the Trojans started the season with a record of 1-0.

They will next play Tuesday at Cornersville Middle School. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.