OAKWOOD — The game plan was simple, and White County executed it to perfection.
Using a heavy dosage of rushing plays, the Warriors ran through, around and over West Hall on Friday en route to a 45-18 win at Spartan Field.
Senior Ashley Lowery led the charge with 121 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns, including a 6-yard score that capped a 13-play, six-minute drive to start the game.
"I was hearing a lot of talk about how I was going to get only 10 yards this week," said Lowery, whose team ran the ball 29 of the 40 plays from scrimmage in the first half. "I got the ball and tried to score every time.
"We made a bunch of changes on the offensive line this week," he added. "We got people in the right place so we could run the ball."
The Warriors (2-1) moved around four of the five offensive linemen prior to Friday's game, and the unit played as cohesive as a group of four-year starters. Along with protecting quarterback Cole Segraves, the line outmuscled West Hall (2-1) away from the ball to open running lanes for Lowery, Segraves and Brandon Ward, who combined for 255 of White County's 285 rushing yards.
Both Segraves and Ward scored touchdowns in the first half that saw White County score 38 unanswered points.
"We just wanted to be physical and execute," White County coach Gregg Segraves said. "We're getting back to fundamentals."
A flawless first half ended with the Spartans finally getting on the scoreboard as time wound down. With less than 20 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Shunquez Stephens lofted a pass to a wide open William Stroup, who strolled into the end zone for a 53-yard touchdown.
The Warriors nearly answered that score as time expired, but a block in the back negated a Lowery touchdown on the ensuing kickoff.
"I don't know what happened," Lowery said. "It's part of the game. I'll just come back and do it again."
That was the second of three touchdowns negated for White County, as the Warriors had a 36-yard touchdown pass from Cole Segraves to Cam Segraves wiped off the board because of penalties.
The other called-back score came in the third quarter when Lowery leaped over a standing defender en route to the end zone, which is a move not allowed in high school football. Lowery scored his third touchdown of the night later in the drive.
The offense wasn't the only aspect of White County that was clicking, as the defense dominated West Hall's offensive line in the first half.
Along with a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown by Ryan Kennedy, the Warriors sacked Stephens twice and held the Spartans to 56 yards in the first half. Eight of the 16 offensive plays run by West Hall in the first half resulted in negative yardage and the team had just one first down.
"I thought we were more physical up front on both sides of the ball," White County's coach said. "The second half was a little sloppy, but I'm pleased with how our guys played."
So was West Hall coach Mike Newton, who applauded his team's second-half efforts.
West Hall scored on opening drive of third quarter when Stephens avoided a slew of tacklers, tossed a short pass to Dre Pou, who zig-zagged his way down the field for a 42-yard touchdown.
Pou scored again in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard run that was set up Stephens, who avoided several sacks and scrambled for 5 yards to set up first and goal.
"I'm proud of the way we came back in the second half," Newton said. "They punched us in the mouth and we didn't quit.
"We're a good football team," he added. "We need to get re-energized and I know we will."