In last week’s exhibition game against Crenshaw Christian, it looked as if football came easy to the Pike Liberal Arts Patriots, as the team cruised to a 48-8 victory on its home turf.

A big reason why the Patriots were able to jump out to a big lead early on was thanks to junior Nick McLaughlin.

While McLaughlin may have gotten the start at quarterback, it was his legs, not his arm, which got most of the attention, as he ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter alone.

He finished with 161 yards off of six carries.

His first score came on PLAS’ second play of the game, as he ran 55-yards to the back of the endzone, while his second touchdown came on a 32-yard run.

“It felt good to play against someone other than my teammates,”

McLaughlin said.

“I thought the line did a great job of giving me holes to run through. It really started with them.”

The junior played just one half before being pulled. “It’s the first game of the season,” he said.

“I really didn’t think I was going to do anything. But I was happy to help my team out – that always feels good.”