Mosley cruises to easy win over visiting NFC (See Photos)

PANAMA CITY — Mosley has had nights early in the season where the offense was clicking and long runs led to impressive numbers on the scoreboard.

It hasn’t had too many where its defense was stout, and stymied a polished pro-style offense.

The combination of those two factors ignited a surprisingly easy 48-13 season-opening win over proud but dominated smaller-class North Florida Christian Friday night at Tommy Oliver Stadium.

It was an inauspicious debut for former Eagle quarterback Robert Craft, who took over the NFC program this season.

“We just got beat up front on both sides of the football,” Craft said. “And we were hurt by penalties on offense and defense.

“We’re young, and we’re better than we played tonight, but sloppy probably sums it up the best.”

Class 4A Mosley had a distinct advantage in size, but not pedigree against 1A NFC. The Dolphins ultimately got touchdowns from six different players, and when they held the Eagles to one first down in the third quarter while scoring twice, they turned it into a rout.

Deric Carter rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns to key a ground game that churned for 413 yards. Jackson Platt added 139 yards and the first touchdown of the game, and Corey Brooks and Andre Long also scored on short runs.

Quarterback Chase Smith attempted only three passes, but clicked on all three. His second was a 44-yard strike to Joey Harris that opened a 35-7 cushion in the third quarter, and his last a 3-yard TD to Daniel Rebstock that hastened a running clock with 8:48 remaining.

Still, it was defense that head coach Perry Brown wanted to talk about afterward, especially with the Dolphins fielding an inexperienced secondary against that offense poised to exploit that weakness.

“I thought we executed pretty well coverage-wise, and were hitting pretty good when they did catch the ball,” Brown said. “It was a good win for us.

“And I was pleased with the way we moved the ball. They had some stunts up front and guessed right some times, but I guess that we guessed right, too.”

NFC was flagged for only five penalties, but two were crucial in the first series of each half. The Eagles encroached on fourth-and-6 after forcing Mosley to punt on its first possession.

The Dolphins elected to gamble on fourth-and 1, and Smith sneaked through the middle for 11 yards. Aside from a lost fumble by Platt with freshman Tony Fields recovering in the second quarter, the Dolphins never were stopped again. They didn’t attempt a punt.

Platt’s 4-yard burst and a 52-yard dash by Carter opened a 14-0 first-quarter lead. The Eagles answered when junior quarterback Matt Dobson, who completed 12 of 22 passes for 139 yards, eluded three onrushing lineman before scrambling 17 yards.

That led to an 8-yard TD run by junior Travis Blanks, who basically outran contain on a sweep left.

Corey Brooks 3-yard sweep made it 21-7 at the half, and Mosley’s dominant third quarter decided the outcome.