Even if he wanted to, Wesley Tankersley wouldn't admit Friday night's season-opening performance by his Ridgeland High School football team was nearly perfect.
The old coach in him had to find something wrong, so even after a complete 49-7 domination of Adairsville, the host Panthers' boss found his teaching point.
"I didn't like starting off flat in the second half defensively, which is never a good thing, but the kids played very hard and didn't make a ton of mistakes," said Tankersley, whose team had a 35-0 halftime lead before the Tigers scored on their first drive of the third quarter.
"We're going to have some things to work on, but this is definitely a good first game."
Good as in 433 total offensive yards to just 146, with 306 coming before halftime and a running clock in the second half. Good as in 40 total offensive yards allowed in the first half to a team that won 12 games a year ago. Good as in 11 Panthers touched the ball on offense in the first half as the team averaged nearly 10 yards per play.
"It was a nice effort," said Tankersley, now warming up. "We've got a lot of kids coming back and experience on the field."
Junior running back Jalyn Shelton led the way with 166 yards and four touchdowns on 16 carries. Sophomore receiver Stephon Walker had two catches - both for touchdowns - and 40 yards. Starting quarterback Ivy Boehm, who was basically a game manager the past two seasons, was 5-for-6 passing for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Even the backups stood out. Quarterback Tanner Moore completed his only pass to Walker for a 15-yard score, while running back Desmond Johnson had a 52-yard touchdown run and Jordan Hughley added 46 yards on just three carries.
"The big thing for us on offense right now is nobody being selfish and everybody being ready to go at any point and time," Tankersley said. "That makes you harder to stop that way because teams can't key on one guy. Jalyn had a great night, but really everybody that touched the ball had a good night."
The Panthers, after going three-and-out on their first series, quickly got cranked up as Shelton rambled for 24 yards, Boehm hit Markeon Jones for 24 more and Shelton finished the quick drive with a 46-yard run. That marked the first of five consecutive scoring drives, which also included Shelton touchdown runs of 2 and 10 yards and Walker touchdown catches of 25 and 15, the latter just before halftime.
"I want to thank my offensive line. They gave it all they've got, and I love them," said Shelton, who remembered Adairsville's season-opening win a year ago and some state predictions that had them losing Friday. "We were supposed to be 16-point underdogs tonight, so we came in with a chip on our shoulders."
The Ridgeland defense was strong, too, harassing Adairsville senior quarterback Roger Redd into four fumbled pitches and, aside from the scoring drive in the second half, not allowing a play of more than 9 yards.
"I'm proud of the defense," Tankersley said. "We played physical, and we have to keep getting better because we go to Pepperell next week and then it gets even tougher."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.