McCallie made the wait worthwhile for its faithful following.
The Blue Tornado battered Red Bank 49-14 on Friday night at Spears Stadium in a home opener delayed an hour by lightning strikes in the area.
"We fed them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches," McCallie coach Ralph Potter said. "We were kind of expecting the delay, so we wanted them to have some nutrition before going out there."
The sandwiches didn't provide the difference. The two programs' experience level and overall talent are on two different levels this year.
"There are some big differences," Potter said. "I appreciate Chad (Grabowski, Red Bank's coach) for playing us."
McCallie (2-2) scored touchdowns the first seven times it had possession of the ball. Maxim Yeoh scored two rushing touchdowns, Shawn McColley scored twice and Rico Dozier caught three touchdown passes - two from JaVaughn Craig and one from Robert Riddle - before the bands combined to play patriotic songs at halftime.
"We're not quite there yet with teams like this," Grabowski said. "We're getting there, but we're not there yet."
The Lions (1-3) struggled from the start and went three-and-out on their first three possessions before failing to convert on fourth down from their own 27-yard line late in the first quarter, leading to a 28-0 deficit.
The Lions played without their top two running backs, leaving the workload to Destein Henderson, quarterback Caleb Tate calling his own number and even defensive end Tra Stamper taking handoffs.
Stamper capped a 10-play drive late in the second quarter with a 6-yard touchdown run that trimmed the deficit to 42-7.
The Blue Tornado had no trouble moving the ball with either Craig or Riddle under center. They combined to go 11-of-12 for 214 passing yards with three touchdowns in the first 24 minutes.
"I challenged the guys to win the second half," Grabowski said. "We did that. The defense responded by shutting them down, and our offense drove down and got another touchdown."
With such a lopsided score in the second half, both teams were able to use players lower on the depth chart and get them experience. McCallie had at least 15 players either take a snap, make a catch or carry the ball.
"Everybody just produced," Riddle said. "The coaches called a great game and we executed."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP