On the first play of the game, Hopkinsville quarterback Jay Bland found Reece Jesse for a long gain, but inside the 20-yard line, Jesse fumbled the ball and the South Warren Spartans roared back for a touchdown.

For the Tigers, it was crushing. For the Spartans, it was just the beginning.

South Warren cruised to a 49-17 win over Hopkinsville at the Stadium of Champions to solidify their place in Class 5A.

“I think we got off to a good start,” Hopkinsville coach Craig Clayton said. “We were in the game, that first play was just devastating. We came back and took the next down, got a field goal, took the next down and scored.”

Hopkinsville got three points then a touchdown from Jay Bland to Ellis Dunn, but that would be the extent of the Tiger scoring until late in the fourth quarter.

South Warren coach Brandon Smith thought his defense looked as young as they were early, but came along as the game continued.

“I thought once they calmed down, got the jitters out, (they) did a really good job, making some adjustments,” Smith said. “From that point on did a pretty good job. That’s a good team. They got some cats over there on the offensive side of the ball. That’s a good first test.”

Cameron Harrison and Clayton Bush each had two touchdowns in the first half for the Spartans and Smith said he wasn’t surprised about the impact Bush had on the game.

“Clayton made plays,” Smith said. “He did a heck of a job in the offseason. He’s a gym rat and he’s one of guys that in there all the time playing, working out, whatever … when he touches it, good things happen.”

Bland finished with 194 yards passing and touchdown to go with two interceptions in the loss.

Clayton said the game reminded him a bit of the start of the 2017 season.

“We did this last year early in the year,” Clayton said. “Jay has to do a little better job of not throwing into coverage and a little more patience. He tried to press late and I thought he played awfully well early, but he pressed late.”

South Warren held a 42-10 lead at the half and added one more touchdown in the third frame to wrap a bow on their stellar opening performance.

The Spartans swarmed the ball at every step of the way and used quickness to score points off turnovers throughout the game.

One bright spot for the Tigers was the play Dunn, a recent transfer from Christian County.

Dunn had four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown while also spending time in the secondary on defense.

“I thought Ellis Dunn played fantastic for three days of practice basically,” he said. “He’s going to be a force. He tried to play defense too. I think as he got tired, his route running wasn’t quite as good.”

South Warren has another game with an odd start time next week the Spartans play at 5 p.m. Saturday at WKU against Warren Central in the Citizens First Bowl.

While Smith was pleased with the win, he could only find mostly flaws in their performance after the game.

“To be completely honest with you, all I can think about are the mistakes right now,” he said. “I know doing interviews you’re supposed to do the positives but they did a good job. The score doesn’t reflect what kind of team that is right there. They did a nice job coming out the first week, kind of weathering the storm and putting their foot on the gas and closing it out.”

South Warren (1-0) 21 21 7 0 — 49

Hopkinsville (0-1) 10 0 0 7 — 17

First quarter

SW – Clayton Bush, 70-yard fumble return, 11:34

HOP – Mason Marschand field goal

SW – Cameron Harrison 14-yard run, 7:06

HOP – Jay Bland to Ellis Dunn, 34-yard pass, 5:39

SW – Cameron Harrison 3-yard run, 3:03

Second quarter

SW – Cameron Harrison 49-yard run, 8:20

SW – Clayton Bush two-yard run, 1:19

SW – Clayton Bush 60-yard interception return, 0:44

Third quarter

SW – Garrett Dinkins 19-yard fumble recovery for touchdown, 3:55

Fourth quarter

HOP – Jordan Hopson 41-yard run, 1:17

REACH TYLER DIXON at 270-887-3260 or tdixon@kentuckynewera.com.