SMITHFIELD—Southampton High School was overtaken by Smithfield High School 45-8 in a VHSL out-of-division matchup, but Head Coach Willie Gillus said even when they were down, the Indians never quit fighting.

“The biggest thing overall was that the team played hard throughout the entire game,” the Div. 3A Indians head coach said. “I also thought Coby Williams ran the ball well, and I thought our young linebackers played well in the second half.”

But the defense was spotty in the first half, Gillus said, en route to the Packers going up 31-0 in the first half.

James Green got the first touchdown for Smithfield, a Div. 4A team, running it in from 5 yards out with about three minutes to go. About 2 minutes later, Donald King Jr. added a second score, this one an 84-yard run. Colin Gary hit both extra point attempts, and Smithfield was up 14-0.

In the second quarter, Lowell Patron completed a 60-yard touchdown pass to Junie Pierce with about 10 minutes left in the quarter, and then about 2 minutes later, Pierce ran one in from 30 yards out. Both kicks were good, and Gary also added a field goal from 32 yards out with about 3 minutes to go.

“Early in the game, we just couldn’t move the football,” Gillus said. “The defense was playing way too many plays early. Once we started moving the football in the second quarter, we turned it over. That really hurt us.”

In the third quarter, King added his second long touchdown of the night, this one from 80 yards out, and after the extra point was made, the score was 38-0.

In the fourth, Southampton got on the board, with Coby Williams rushing it in from 3 yards out. Williams, as the holder, also rushed in the two point conversion on a fake field goal attempt to make it 38-0.

The final score of the night came with about a minute left in the game, with Nick Turner running it in from 8 yards out, and the extra point closed out scoring at 45-8.

“We played good in spurts,” Gillus said. “But we just couldn’t sustain good offensive play. On defense, we missed a lot of big tackles up the middle. Missed tackles, turnover and penalties really hurt us.”

Southampton, on bye next week, falls to 0-2 on the season.