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New faces lift Rowlett to season-opening win over North Mesquite
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
The kickoff to the 2012 football season was an opportunity for many fresh faces to make their introductions.
That was certainly true for Rowlett and North Mesquite, who were each breaking in several new players on both sides of the ball.
While both teams might have discovered some potential stars, it was those of the Eagles that shined brighter as they picked up a 31-14 victory on Friday at Homer B. Johnson Stadium.
To make up for the loss of production from Rhodes, the Eagles turned to a pair of players making their first start in quarterback Carson Hyles and running back Derrick Imade.
Hyles, a senior, shook off an early interception to complete 20-of-24 passes for 289 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Imade, the younger brother of former Rowlett stars Dexter and Deion, ran for 103 yards and a score on 21 carries.
North Mesquite had its own pair of breakouts as running backs Ta'varius Luke and Corey Hunt combined to rush for 315 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but the Stallions were unable to overcome a disastrous start to the fourth quarter.
The Eagles were clinging to a narrow 17-14 advantage heading into the final 12 minutes before Hyles threw a 23-yard completion to Corey Manges and then came right back with a 34-yard scoring strike to Chris Heath to stretch the lead to 24-14.
The Rowlett defense stuffed the Stallions on their ensuing drive and then on the punt attempt, the ball hit the back of one of their own blockers. The Eagles pounced on the loose ball at the 2-yard line and Hyles did the rest to give them a 31-14 lead with just 8:52 left in the game.
North Mesquite twice drove into Rowlett territory in the final minutes, but was unable to get into the end zone either time.
With Hyles and North Mesquite's Cody Williams each making their first start, there was expected to be some early jitters and that was the case.
After a nice 14-yard run that helped get the Stallions near midfield, Williams was unable to handle a high snap and Nigel Hasty recovered the loose ball for the Eagles.
The Stallion defense struck back just four plays later, though, as Nicholas Marino intercepted a pass to thwart to the scoring threat.
The teams traded punts until the second quarter when the offenses finally started developing some rhythm.
Rowlett broke through first, marching 94 yards in 10 plays before a penalty forced them to settle for a 28-yard field goal from Aspen Hulme.
North Mesquite then shook out of its funk, getting a pair of huge runs from Luke and Hunt to move down the field where Hunt punched it in from two yards out for a 7-3 lead.
Hyles continued to heat up, as he completed all five of his passes on a 70-yard drive that ended in a 13-yard touchdown run by Imade that gave Rowlett a 10-7 lead going into halftime.
The Eagles followed that up to start the second half by chewing up nearly seven minutes off the clock, with Hyles hitting Heath in stride on third-and-18 for a 25-yard touchdown pass that made it 17-7.
The Stallions needed just one play to answer, as Luke broke through the line of scrimmage and outraced everybody else to the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown to claw back to 17-14 with 4:59 left in the third quarter.
Rowlett put together another time-consuming drive but came up empty after a missed field goal.
North Mesquite went three-and-out but still was in good shape with only a three-point deficit going to the fourth quarter.
That all changed in a span of two minutes to start the final period and the Eagles never looked back.
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