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MARIETTA - Chip Lindsey did at least two things right in his head coaching debut at Lassiter.

He started his season with a win and stopped a two-game losing skid to Sprayberry.

Lassiter scored early and never looked back in its 42-28 victory over the Yellow Jackets on Saturday night at Frank Fillmann Stadium.

Hutson Mason was impressive as the Trojans' new starting quarterback, and Lassiter's defense - led by Derek Demyanek and Rip Rowen - slowed down Sprayberry's dynamic duo of quarterback Forest Holt and running back David Carter in the first half.

It was Lassiter's first season-opening win since it last beat Sprayberry, 31-7, in 2005 and it was the most points the Trojans scored since scoring 47 in a win over Woodstock on Sept. 13, 2002.

"I'm proud of the guys' effort and way we played," Lindsey said. "I thought the kids played really hard on most downs. The thing I'm really proud of is that we handled adversity."

Mason was 15-of-25 for 163 yards and four touchdown passes, with 137 of those yards coming in the first half. His first drive of the game, which started on the Lassiter 29-yard line, was nearly perfect and resulted in seven points when he connected with Dillon Dupree for a 4-yard touchdown strike.

Rowen sacked Holt on Sprayberry's opening drive, forcing the Yellow Jackets to go three-and-out. Holt, who finished with 133 yards on 26 carries, continued to struggle in the first quarter. He slipped twice when he had room to scramble didn't get a positive yardage until his fifth carry.

Carter also struggled early against the Trojans. His first three attempts went for negative yards and he had just 4 yards on seven touches in the first half before finishing the game with 75 yards on 13 carries.

"The whole time we knew they were good backs," said Rowen, who had more than 10 tackles at linebacker. "We were looking to contain them the whole game and keeping them inside and not let them get outside. Our defensive line did a great job of that and letting the linebackers make tackles."

Lassiter's penalties in the red zone kept the Yellow Jackets in the game and Sprayberry trimmed its 14-0 deficit early in the second quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run by Holt.

The Trojans, however, pulled away afterwards with back-to-back touchdowns before halftime. Mason found an open Ray Zingler for a 9-yard touchdown pass and then hit Jimmy Mayer for a 23-yard touchdown on the next drive to give Lassiter a 28-6 cushion.

The Trojans added another seven points on a quarterback sneak in the second half and Sprayberry's comeback hopes were dashed in the fourth when a Rowen interception set up a 12-yard touchdown run by Xavier Morgan, who led Lassiter in rushing with 95 yards on 14 carries.

Sprayberry scored twice late in the fourth, which includes a 70-yard touchdown pass from Holt to Carter, but the 42-16 Lassiter lead was too signicifant.

"Lassiter made plays when we didn't early," Sprayberry coach Billy Shackelford said. "We made adjustments at halftime and were able to do some things offensively and defensively. Lassiter has a lot of peole back on offensive and defense and a talented group of kids."

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