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MARIETTA - Lassiter coach Chip Lindsey's intention was to get Wheeler early entering Friday night's Region 6AAAAA encounter with the Wildcats at Frank Fillmann Stadium. And they did.

After six offensive plays, Lindsey's Trojans had 134 yards of offense including a pair of touchdowns, and the 49-14 route of the Wildcats was well underway, so that major objective was achieved.

"We figured they were going to throw deep to [Philip] Lutzenkirchen on the first play, and we practiced this week on stopping that, and they did it anyway," said Wheeler coach Tom Flugum, dejected by the lopsided score but buoyed by a trio of near-scores that would have made the game much closer.

Lutzenkirchen, the Trojans' tight end and Auburn commitment, got behind the Wheeler secondary on the first play of the game for a 40-yard reception from quarterback Hutson Mason, who followed with the first of his four touchdown passes on the next play, a 20-yarder to Xavier Morgan only 52 seconds into the game for a 7-0 lead.

On the next drive, Mason motored the Trojans (4-1, 3-1) 74 yards in just six plays, including a 29-yard sprint by Morgan, a 24-yard pass to Reid Handler and then a 13-yarder to Handler in the end zone, and Lassiter doubled its margin.

Constantly outmaneuvered by Lassiter's balanced offense, the Wildcats (0-5, 0-4) found themselves in a 21-0 hole before the first period ended, this time on Morgan's second tally, a 7-yard run up the middle, and two more Mason scoring tosses made it 35-0 in the second period.

Wide receiver Kendall Newsome was the recipient of a Mason pass that was intended for tight end Shane Parman. The ball bounced off Parman's outstretched hands - and into Newsome's who completed the 56-yard score without breaking stride.

A Mason 9-yard lob to Jimmy Mayer made it 35-0 before Wheeler quarterback Chris Allen bolted across from 32 yards to get Wheeler on the scoreboard before intermission.

"We got a total team effort, we took care of things early, we ran the ball a whole lot better, and we did make some big plays," assessed Lindsey, who with his staff continues to resurrect the Trojans' football fortunes. "We like to balance our offense - not between running and passing, but among several different players."

Seven different receivers latched onto Mason aerials and Morgan paced a half-dozen ballcarriers with 97 yards on eight touches. Mason, who logged only a half-game, finished with 258 passing yards while upping his county-leading TD total to 14.

"There were some positives," said Flugum, in spite of the result that included six fumbles. "We didn't get the call in the end zone, had another one run back 101 yards, and had a first-and-goal inside the one and couldn't push it across. Previously, we haven't been getting close enough to say we should have scored."

Allen appeared to have connected with Karl Cochran for a 28-yard touchdown pass in the second period with Lassiter leading 28-0. But the referees ruled that defensive back Jordan Taylor had wrested the ball out of Cochran's possession in the end zone. After that turnover, Lassiter drove 80 yards in 10 plays to score.

Then, in the third period, Trojan senior defensive back Alan Grant stepped in front of another Allen pass into the end zone and outdistanced the entire Wheeler squad 101 yards for a touchdown. "Those are 14-point turnarounds," said Flugum of the two end zone interceptions that became Lassiter touchdowns.

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