JACKSONVILLE – When the final whistle blew in Southwest’s 34-7 victory over South Lenoir on Friday night, coach Phil Padgett had a stern talk with his squad.
In his mind, the Stallions still had plenty to work on for next week when they visit rival Richlands.
“We came out flat,” Padgett said. “We need to work on everything from A to Z.”
You never would have guessed the Stallions (1-1) beat the Blue Devils (0-2). Southwest led just 14-7 at halftime.
The Stallions dominated in virtually every aspect. The team had 414 yards of total offense -- including 304 on the ground -- compared to 78 yards by South Lenoir.
The Stallions were led by senior running back Isaiah Corbins, who rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries. He had a 44-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to give Southwest a 7-0 lead before he added a 5-yard score to give the Stallions 28-7 cushion.
Emmitt Johnson added a 25-yard touchdown run and Jonathan Williams had a 19-yard touchdown run for the Stallions.
“We did some good things with the run game tonight,” Padgett said.
The Stallions’ defense also had a solid outing in Southwest’s second home game of the season.
The Blue Devils mustered 78 yards total as Southwest defenders Marckus Humphries, Xavier Wells among others broke through South Lenoir’s front five and caused havoc for quarterback Kyle Huffman.
He could only get off one pass: a 13-yard pass to running back Cody Ladich. Conversely, Southwest quarterback Tyler Smith was 9 for 17 in the air for 110 yards.
Southwest also won the turnover battle. The Stallions picked up two fumbles, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Wells.
“Defense played pretty hard and they were able to make some good things happen,” Padgett said.
However, Southwest hurt itself at times with penalties. The Stallions had 11 penalties, two of which negated touchdowns. Though the Stallions came out victorious, Padgett found his team’s penalties a tough pill to swallow.
“I don’t feel good about this game,” he said. “I’m very disappointed…we’re going to have to coach them up better for next week’s game.”