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LANETT — Springwood took care of business early, building a 43-o first half lead over the obviously outmanned Meadowview Christian Trojans before turning over the game to their reserves who held on for a 57-30 win Friday night at Wildcat Stadium.

The Wildcats ran their record to 4-0 on the year and are primed for a showdown versus Cornerstone next week at Wildcat Stadium.

Springwood was totally dominant in the first quarter, rolling out to a 29-0 lead before the lights went out with 3:20 left in the opening period. A citywide power failure darkened both the Springwood stadium and Lanett High’s Morgan-Washburn Stadium for approximately one-half hour. When the lights came back on, both hometown teams went on to win big.

Springwood took the opening kickoff and scored their first touchdown in less than two minutes off the clock. Quarterback Luke Hudson led the team down the field, completing passes to Dylan Reeves and Eli Jackson to get the ball close to the goal and then scored on a run up the middle to put the Wildcats ahead for good. Hudson passed to Reeves on the conversion to make the score 8-0 with 10:01 left in the first quarter.

On Meadowview’s first possession, the Wildcat defense held them to a fourth and ten before the visitors made a questionable decision in opting for a fake punt. It was a disaster with the play losing ten yards and Springwood taking over on their 20. On the first play from there, C.J. Johnson stormed up the middle to score the second Wildcat TD of the game on a 20-yard run. Jacob Burton’s PAT made the score 15-0 with 7:40 showing in the opening period.

Things went from bad to worse for the Trojans on their next possession. Springwood’s defense made back-to-back-to-back lost yardage plays to bring up fourth and 26. The Trojans punted this time. Dylan Reeves fielded it at the Meadowview 40 and returned it for a touchdown. Burton’s PAT made the score 22-0 in favor of Springwood with 5:12 left in the first period.

The Springwood defense forced Meadowview into a fourth-and-four on the next possession, and Meadowview went for it once again, this time on their 21. They threw an incompletion, giving the Wildcats another great chance to score from in close and once again they did it in one play. Hudson found Eli Johnson wide open in the right flat, and the swift target raced untouched to the end zone. Another successful PAT from Burton made the score 29-0 with 3:52 left in the first period.

That’s when the lights went out. They came back on a half hour later, but they remained out for the Trojans. On the first play when the game resumed, their quarterback was sacked and fumbled the ball. The Wildcats recovered on the Meadowview eight yard line. On the next play, Hudson passed to C.J. Johnson for another score. Burton’s PAT made it 36-0. Amazingly, Springwood had that kind of lead and there was still 3:13 left in the first quarter. And it would get worse.

The Trojans fumbled the ensuing kickoff. Springwood recovered down deep, and Reeves scored from in close to make it 43-0 with 1:18 left in quarter one.

The visitors then got their first break of the ball game. They scored on a long run and made the two-point conversion to make it 43-8 with 1:03 left in the first quarter.

That first quarter was something to behold. The two teams combined for 51 points. The second quarter was vastly different. Springwood scored just once to hold a 49-8 lead at the half.

In the second half, Springwood cleared its bench and played everyone who wore a uniform. They did get a touchdown on a 75-yard kickoff return by C.J. Johnson. Backup quarterback Cooper Key ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 57-16 late in the third quarter.

The officials ran the clock continuously in the second half to shorten the game. The visitors managed to score three times against Wildcat backup players, the final score coming on the last play of the game.

The 57-30 outcome was a workmanlike performance for Springwood and puts the Wildcats in great shape for next week’s big game with Cornerstone.