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COURTLAND—What a difference a week makes. Rebounding from a season-opening 40-13 loss to Hertford County (NC), the Southampton High School football team completely dominated the Windsor Dukes Friday night and rolled to a 40-0 victory.

After the game, Indians head coach Travis Parker said, “The coaches and players rebounded very well after a disappointing loss last week. We worked very hard to be a better football team this week and we were able to accomplish that.”

They were indeed a much better team. Having struggled at times to move the ball against Hertford the prior week, the Indians offense was able to drive up and down the field all night against Windsor, racking up nearly 500 yards in total offense. Six different ball carriers combined for four touchdowns on the ground and a total of 298 rushing yards at an impressive clip of 14 yards per carry. Through the air, the Indians were efficient and equally as effective. Averaging over 35 yards per completion, three different receivers caught five of seven pass attempts for 177 yards and two touchdowns. For the game, the offense only had two plays that produced negative yardage and were forced to punt just one time.

As impressive as the offense looked, Southampton may have been even more dominating on the defensive side of the ball. The Indians gave up a total of just 52 net yards and two first downs. The defensive line overwhelmed Windsor’s blockers all night, registering six tackles for loss and four tackles for no gain. The defensive backfield threw in an interception for good measure. Parker said he was equally pleased the play of their special teams, especially his punt and kickoff coverage units.

Parker said, “I love the resilience that the players are exhibiting in practice. The practices are not easy, but the players believe in the process.” He added, “We have a great group of young men who are here for each other and believe in each other.”

That group of young men will travel to Northampton High School in Eastville Thursday night for their first road game of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.