Despite a rough start in the first half against region foe Booker T. Washington, the Charles Henderson High School Trojans put on a solid showing in the later parts of the game to take home an impressive 40-6 victory.

From the starting gate, error plagued the Trojans and allowed the Golden Eagles to take a fumbled snap by senior quarterback Joe Bradley and return it 55 yards for the score in the first quarter.

The Trojans kept fighting by blocking the PAT kick and then finding themselves in the red zone shortly after on a long pass from Bradley to Robert Lee.

Things took a turn for the worst however when junior running back Courtney Downing fumbled the ball inside the 20-yard line to give up scoring position.

The second quarter was more of the same, with senior kicker Nathaniel Salmon missing a 30-yard field goal kick that banged off the right upright.

The Trojans were in the red-zone unsuccessfully on three separate occasions throughout the first half, and did not put points on the board until late in the second quarter, when Bradley connected with Lee for a 31-yard touchdown to tie the game.

“What it really came to was execution,” Trojans head coach Hugh Fountain said. “We started good and then we had to deal with turnovers and penalties and other errors. We came back in the second half on fire and aggressive, it was how we should have started the game.”

Though the first half was a tough affair, the Trojans running game showed its stregth. Downing, racked up 176 yards on 17 carries in the first half alone.

After halftime, the Trojans came back with a vengeance to overpower the Golden Eagles, showing aggression on both sides of the ball.

It began on the opening kickoff of the second half when junior Detorrian Green returned the kick for 34 yards to put the Trojans in their opponent’s territory.

Downing led the offense on the ground all the way to the end zone, scoring a touchdown early in the third to make it a 13-6 game and give the Trojans their first lead of the evening.

Later in the third quarter, senior Stanley Crawford scored on the ground with a 4-yard run for the Trojans and begin a rally that would put the game out of Booker T. Washington’s reach.

Crawford would run in two more touchdowns in the game, including a 32-yard touchdown sprint.

The Trojans would score one last time with just over five minutes remaining, punching in six more points on a short 1-yard run by senior Josh Barrow to make it a final score of 40-6.

“It was a big deal for us,” Fountain said. “Any time you score like that it’s a big deal. That’s the kind of performance we expect from guys like Crawford and Downing, we expect them both to be hard runners.”

Although tough matchups with Valley and Eufaula still lay ahead Fountain is glad to get this win under his belt.

“It’s fixing to get a lot tougher,” Fountain said. “Valley always is one of the tougher teams in the region. We’re sitting 2-0 but there are a lot of things we can get better at. I’m proud we were able to get the win now we’ve just got to come out next week and work hard.”

The Trojans are set to play Valley on the road in a region matchup next week.