CHARLESTON -- The Charleston offense didn't have a strong first quarter, but it got things going quickly after that Friday night at Alumni Field.
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Senior quarterback Jackson Rowland turned the offense around by throwing three touchdowns in the second quarter in a 42-6 victory against Paris on Friday night.
"Jackson took some hits back there," Charleston Coach Coach Greg Kendrick said. "He showed some heart. The measure of a quarterback is taking a hit and delivering a great ball. He did that."
Rowland finished 16-of-23 passing for 269 yards with 4 touchdowns, and he added a 1-yard touchdown run for the Tigers.
Paris scored the first touchdown when senior running back Nate Davidson scored on a 2-yard run with 11:25 left before halftime.
Charleston (5-0, 2-0 3A-4) started out slow on offense, losing a fumble on its first possession then punting on its next, but it scored on its final three possessions for the first half.
Rowland completed a 23-yard pass to junior wide receiver Sean Michael Flanagan to get the offense going and tie the game at 6-6 after a failed two-point conversion. Rowland found Flanagan again for a touchdown on a one-play drive with 5:48 left in the second quarter to break the tie 14-6.
Rowland capped the strong quarter with his third passing touchdown, finding junior wide receiver Mason Wisdom for a 4-yard pass as time expired in the first half and a 22-6 lead.
"The momentum changed on us in the second quarter," Paris Coach Marc Tucker said. "It's still a close game, but then they score right before halftime. The air kind of went out of us there. I still wouldn't count us out after this though."
The Tigers used back-to-back touchdown drives to open the second half, and a 57-yard punt return touchdown by Flanagan pushed the lead to 42-6 with 2:49 left in the third quarter.
Paris (2-3, 1-1) was limited to just 10 yards on 10 plays in the second half.
"I'm very, very pleased with our defensive performance," Kendrick said. "Our coaches have them playing hard and fast. They were able to keep us in it early then our offense found some success."
Wisdom finished with 9 catches for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Flanagan added 4 catches for 87 yards with 2 touchdowns for the Tigers.
Davidson led the way for the Eagles, finishing with 12 carries for 31 yards and a touchdown.
Sports on 10/01/2016