Mineral County High running back Michael Smith cuts through the Lone Pine defense in the Serpents 62-14 win Friday night.

Mineral County High running back Michael Smith cuts through the Lone Pine defense in the Serpents 62-14 win Friday night.

The 2014 football season started off in grand fashion for Mineral County High School Friday night as the Serpents trounced Lone Pine 62-14 in Hawthorne.

Mineral County coach Curt McElroy’s hybrid pistol offense was in full effect early on as his team jumped out to an early 8-0 lead on a Tyshawn Bonner 13 yard touchdown run, and they never looked back.

“I’m proud of the kids, they absolutely played football,” M-Elroy said. “There were some little tiny things we could have done better, but when you put up 64 points it’s tough to criticize anything they did.”

Bonner, the Serpents first-year starting quarterback, took over the job from graduating senior Jared Keuhey and looked right at home from the opening kick. The 6-foot senior connected with Brady Cardenas on an 8-yard pass in the first quarter to put his team up 16-0 after the Cardenas conversion, and again connected with him late on a 12 yard pass to put the game on ice at 54-14.

“Tyshawn is a good player, he’s big, fast and strong,” McElroy said. “But he’s also a tremendous kid to be around and a great leader. For us though it’s not just about one guy, everybody needs to contribute for us to be successful.”

And the Serpents had plenty of contribution Friday night.

Junior Michael Smith ran back a kick-off 90 yards for a touchdown in the first half and rushed for another score in the second. Tristan Reynolds added a long run of his own with an 82-yard score to put the Serpents up 32, adding to his big day after a two-point conversion in the first quarter.

Cardenas also had a huge game in his final home opener of his high school career. The senior had eight catches, two touchdowns, three conversions and 204 total yards to help lead his team to one of the biggest season opening blowouts in recent history for the home team.

“Brady did a great job for us, he’s really coming into his own as a football player,” McElroy said.

But he also praised his boys up front for the job they did.

“I can’t give our offensive line enough credit, they opened up the holes for us all game and allowed us to move the ball,” said McElroy. “If they can’t block the way they do, we can’t run this offense.”

Scheduling note: This Saturday’s 7 p.m. home game against Avalon has been canceled after Avalon pulled out. The Serpents next game will be Friday Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. against Owyhee at Mineral County High School.