In the opening game of the season between the Pearl River Rebels and the Varnado Wildcats, the air was not filled with rain but with penalty flags.

The contest had 29 penalties.

Varnado was penalized 16 times for 165 yards, while Pearl River was flagged 13 times for 120 yards.

Pearl River’s Brent Bourgeois secures the ball while running upfield during the Rebels’ opener against Varnado Friday. (Photo by Shannon Diecidue)

When the dust cleared, Varnado came out on the winning end with a 46-26 victory.

The game started with an 11-play, four-minute drive by the Wildcats that was capped off by a 27-yard touchdown pass from LaTerrius Crumedy to JaVautae Bell. Varnado went for the two-point conversion, but failed, keeping the score at 6-0.

Crumedy had a huge night, finishing with three rushing touchdowns and he connected on four touchdown passes. He carried the ball 14 times for 284 yards and completed 13-of-22 passing attempts for 241 yards.

Pearl River marched right back on its next possession, driving to the Varnado 12-, but was forced to try a 22-yard field goal by Adler Tonon. The kick was good cutting the Varnado lead to 6-3 with 4:10 left in the first quarter.

Following the kickoff, things went sour for the Rebels. On the first play from scrimmage, Crumedy took off from his own 10 and scampered 90 yards for a touchdown. Again, the two-point attempt was no good keeping the margin at 12-3.

With 5:49 left in the first half, Pearl River scored again after mounting their best drive of the game. The Rebels took it from their own 11-yardline and marched 89 yards. Brent Bourgeois went the final five yards for the touchdown and with Tonon’s successful PAT the Rebels climbed back in at 12-10.

Varnado then ran back the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for the score, but the play was nullified by a penalty. With the ball at the Wildcats’ two, the Rebels’ defense, led by Julian Carter, swarmed Crumedy and took him down in the end zone for a safety knotting things at 12-12 with 4:14 left.

With time running out in the first half, Varnado managed to penetrate the Rebels’ defense again and scored on a 24-yard pass from Crumedy to Ladarrius Cotton. The two-point conversion was missed again to put Varnado up 18-12 at halftime.

Pearl River’s first possession in the second half put them in real trouble. On the third play from scrimmage, Rebels’ running back Jordan Vicknair lost the handle on the ball and the Wildcats fell on it at the Rebel 35-yardline.

Six plays later the Wildcats made them pay, as Jeremy Wolfe pulled in a nine-yard pass from Crumedy to go up 24-12 after missing their fourth, consecutive two-point conversion.

On the next Wildcat series, the Rebels pinned them on their own one-yard line, but Crumedy, as he had done all night, proved to be too quick for the Rebels’ defense. Crumedy burst through the middle of the PRHS line and ran untouched for a 99-yard touchdown run. The Wildcats finally converted a two-point play to go up 32-12 with 5:10 left in the third quarter.

Rebel QB Chase Moore was picked off by Cotton as the Rebels were operating from the Wildcats’ 10 and looked as though they were going to climb back into the game.

Following the touchback, it took Varnado only three plays to score again.

Wolfe hauled in a 52-yard TD strike from Crumedy and took a 38-12 lead after another failed conversion attempt.

Varnado widened the margin again as Crumedy continued to confound the Rebels’ defense and scampered 25 yards for the final touchdown.

Crumedy ran for the final two-point conversion to put the Wildcats up 46-12 with 10:09 remaining in the game.

But the young, inexperienced Rebels were not about to give up. In fact, they went on to score two touchdowns in the final 10 minutes.

The first one was a three-yard run by Aaron Roberson.

PRHS added one more, also on a three-yard run. Both of Tonon’s PAT attempts were good to see the final score end at 46-26. Roberson had 104 yards on 14 carries.

Said victorious Wildcat coach Paul Meyerchick, “I was really surprised at our kids out there tonight. We had no major scrimmages and we didn’t play in any jamborees so I didn’t know what to expect. This was a big game for our young players.”

Meyerchick also had great things to say about his quarterback Crumedy.

“LaTerrius is a tremendous talent and he showed it out there tonight.”

The Wildcats racked up 573 total yards, 332 on the ground and 241 yards in the air.

PRHS’ running game put together 224 yards on 43 attempts.

But it was not the debut that new Rebel head coach Chris Thomas had envisioned.

“We played hard out there tonight, but it was the big plays and penalties that hurt us,” said Thomas. “It was our youth and inexperience that showed tonight and we will have to get better.”